Chapter 13 - The Signal Intercept
Before Ethan could smash the device, the monitor's screen suddenly flared to life, flashing a bright red warning code that hadn't appeared before. A synthetic voice echoed from the built-in speaker: “Containment breach acknowledged. Uploading coordinates to central command.” ""Damn it, they're overriding the manual lock from a remote relay!"" Ethan cursed, frantically pressing buttons to disconnect the internal transmitter. Claire grabbed a heavy metal wrench from the deck locker and handed it to him without hesitation. ""Break the core board! Now!"" Ethan raised the wrench high above his head and brought it down with full force onto the screen, shattering glass and circuit boards into a useless pile of scrap metal. The red light flickered and died, plunging the boat into total darkness once again. But as the smoke cleared from the ruined device, a small blinking amber light began to pulse from a hidden compartment beneath the battery pack—a secondary transmitter that hadn't been disabled.
