Chapter 2 - The Commander Who Knew My Grandfather's Secret
The office door handle moved again.
Slowly.
Like whoever was standing outside wasn't trying to force their way in.
They already knew the door was locked.
They were waiting for someone inside to open it.
Commander Richard Hayes stared at the handle.
I had seen fear on people's faces before.
I had seen it on soldiers before dangerous missions.
I had seen it on civilians during emergencies.
But I had never seen it on someone like him.
A commander.
A man who had spent decades making decisions when everyone else was afraid.
"Who is outside?" I whispered.
Hayes didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the desk and grabbed the mahogany box.
For a second, I thought he was going to open it.
But he didn't.
He held it against his chest.
Like he was protecting it.
Or protecting me.
"Captain Palmer," he said quietly.
"Listen carefully."
The handle stopped moving.
The silence felt heavier than before.
"If that door opens, you do not say anything about this box."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
His eyes moved toward the photograph on the desk.
The photograph of my grandfather standing beside my father.
"Because there are people who spent years making sure this never reached you."
My stomach tightened.
"My family?"
Hayes didn't respond.
That was an answer by itself.
A knock suddenly came from the other side of the door.
Three slow knocks.
Not a request.
A warning.
"Commander Hayes."
A man's voice came through.
Calm.
Controlled.
"I need to speak with Captain Palmer."
My heart stopped for a moment.
I had arrived at Fort Blackwood less than an hour ago.
Nobody here should have known I was inside this office.
Nobody except the commander.
Hayes looked at me.
His expression changed.
He was no longer surprised.
He was certain.
"They knew you were coming."
I stepped back.
"Who?"
He placed the box on the desk.
Then he walked closer.
"Before I answer that, you need to understand something."
The knock came again.
Three times.
"Your grandfather was not a simple retired soldier."
I looked at the box.
"What was he?"
Hayes lowered his voice.
"He was part of a special military intelligence division that officially disappeared twenty years ago."
I frowned.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Hayes shook his head.
"It was intentional."
He opened a drawer and removed a thin folder.
The folder was old.
The edges were damaged.
But one thing caught my attention.
A classification stamp.
RED LEVEL.
I had seen that marking before.
Only on documents that were never supposed to leave secure facilities.
Hayes placed it on the desk.
"This belonged to your grandfather."
I didn't touch it.
"Why do you have it?"
His expression changed.
"Because I was there the night he disappeared."
The room became silent.
My fingers tightened.
"Disappeared?"
Hayes looked away.
"Your family told everyone he retired."
I nodded slowly.
"That's what I was told."
He opened the folder.
Inside were several documents.
Military records.
Photographs.
Names.
Dates.
Then I saw something that made my breathing stop.
A picture of my grandfather.
But he wasn't old.
He wasn't sitting beside a fishing boat.
He wasn't smiling at family gatherings.
He was wearing a military uniform.
Standing inside a facility I didn't recognize.
Beside him were several officers.
One of them was Commander Hayes.
Younger.
Different.
But definitely him.
I looked up.
"You worked with him."
Hayes nodded.
"For twelve years."
I looked back at the photograph.
"Why did nobody tell me?"
The commander was quiet for a moment.
Then he said:
"Because your grandfather asked us not to."
That surprised me.
"My grandfather?"
He nodded.
"He knew something was coming."
I stared at him.
"What was coming?"
Hayes walked toward the window.
For a few seconds, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
"The same people who erased his unit wanted the information he protected."
I looked at the box.
"What information?"
Hayes turned around.
"The reason your grandfather trusted you."
I felt my heartbeat increase.
"Why me?"
The commander looked at the box.
"Because you were the only person in your family who never asked him for anything."
I didn't understand.
"My father was his son."
Hayes nodded.
"Exactly."
His answer confused me.
"What does that mean?"
Hayes walked back to the desk.
He opened another document.
It was a letter.
The handwriting was familiar.
I knew it immediately.
My grandfather's handwriting.
My hands trembled.
"Where did you get this?"
Hayes looked at me.
"He gave it to me before he disappeared."
I stared at him.
"You had this all along?"
"I was waiting."
"For what?"
He looked at the box.
"For you."
I opened the letter carefully.
The paper was old.
The ink had faded.
But the first sentence was clear.
Fiona,
If you are reading this, then they failed to stop you.
My breath caught.
I continued.
You will be angry. You will have questions. You will wonder why I kept the truth from you.
But understand this.
The people who protected themselves by hiding the truth from our family were never afraid of me.
They were afraid of you.
I stopped reading.
My hands went cold.
"Me?"
Hayes didn't answer.
I looked at the next line.
The handwriting continued.
Your father will tell you he doesn't know anything.
That is a lie.
I looked up immediately.
"My father knew?"
Hayes looked down.
"Yes."
The word hit harder than I expected.
My father.
The man who watched me leave his house.
The man who called my career a mistake.
The man who never defended me.
He knew.
All these years.
He knew something.
"What was he involved in?"
Hayes didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the security monitor beside his desk.
The screen showed the hallway outside.
My heart stopped.
A man was standing there.
Watching the office door.
I recognized him.
Not because I knew him.
Because I knew the face beside him.
The face in the old photograph.
My father's face.
Older.
But unmistakable.
I stared at the monitor.
"That's my father."
Hayes nodded.
"He came here because of the box."
I looked at him.
"How do you know?"
The commander didn't reply.
Because another notification appeared on the screen.
Someone had accessed the building security system.
The name appeared.
AUTHORIZED USER:
THOMAS PALMER.
My father.
I stepped closer.
"He is not authorized here."
Hayes looked at me.
"Your father isn't the person you think he is."
I felt anger rising.
"You don't know my father."
The commander held my gaze.
"No, Fiona."
His voice became quieter.
"I know exactly who your father is."
The office lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the security monitor went black.
Hayes immediately reached for the box.
"What happened?"
He didn't answer.
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
Because a sound came from the hallway.
A familiar sound.
A key card being used.
But not at the main entrance.
At his office door.
I watched as the lock turned green.
Someone outside had overridden the system.
Hayes whispered:
"That shouldn't be possible."
May you like
The handle slowly moved.
The door began to open.
