Chapter 3 - The Woman Behind The Handcuffs
The first thing I saw when the office door opened was the uniform.
Not a face.
Not a weapon.
Not a threat.
A uniform.
A military dress uniform stood in the doorway, perfectly pressed, with a row of medals across the chest.
But the person wearing it was not there to introduce himself.
He was there to deliver a warning.
"Colonel Hayes."
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
I looked up from my desk.
A man in his late forties stood outside my office.
Captain Marcus Vane.
The same man circled in the photograph.
The same man who had been watching me in the hangar.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then he stepped inside.
"I assume you know who I am."
I looked at the photograph on my desk.
Then back at him.
"I know you were watching me."
His expression did not change.
"That depends on what you mean by watching."
"Standing in the background while a senior officer was publicly humiliated seems like a reasonable definition."
Captain Vane closed the door behind him.
"You allowed it to happen."
The sentence caught my attention.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it was exactly what I had done.
"I did."
"Why?"
I studied him carefully.
Most people would have tried to apologize.
Most people would have explained themselves.
Marcus Vane did neither.
He was measuring me.
Trying to understand what kind of commander I was.
"I wanted to see who Sergeant Brody was when he thought I had no authority."
"And what did you learn?"
I looked down at the investigation files.
"That he doesn't respect authority."
A small pause.
"Only power."
For the first time, something changed in Vane's expression.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Like he had been waiting to hear that answer.
"You came here looking for problems."
"I came here to fix them."
"Those are not always the same thing."
I leaned back.
"Then tell me what I'm missing."
He remained silent.
That silence told me more than words.
"You know something."
"I know enough to tell you that your investigation will become dangerous."
I almost smiled.
"Captain, I've spent years in places where people tried to kill me. A difficult workplace isn't exactly intimidating."
"This isn't about intimidation."
"Then what is it about?"
He looked toward the hallway.
Making sure nobody was listening.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Control."
The word stayed between us.
"Someone has spent years controlling what happens on this base."
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward my desk and placed a small device beside the photograph.
A flash drive.
"Before you ask, no, I did not steal this."
I looked at him.
"That was not my first question."
"It should have been."
I picked up the drive.
"What is it?"
"Something Sergeant Brody doesn't want anyone to find."
I studied his face.
"You know a lot about what Brody wants."
"Because I have been investigating him."
"Officially?"
"No."
That answer changed the room.
"You were conducting an unofficial investigation?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Vane looked away for a moment.
Then he said something I did not expect.
"Because three years ago, someone tried to report him."
I remembered the file.
Daniel Reeves.
The maintenance technician.
The complaint that disappeared.
"What happened to Daniel Reeves?"
Vane's jaw tightened.
"He disappeared."
The room became quiet.
"Disappeared?"
"Officially, he transferred."
"And unofficially?"
Vane looked directly at me.
"He never left the base."
I felt my attention sharpen.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying someone wanted everyone to believe he was gone."
I looked at the flash drive again.
"What is on this?"
"Evidence."
"Of what?"
"That Brody was protected."
"By who?"
Vane didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
"You made one mistake yesterday."
I frowned.
"What mistake?"
"You thought Sergeant Brody was the problem."
I waited.
"He isn't."
The words were quiet.
"But he is the person they allow you to see."
I stood up.
"Who is behind him?"
Before he could answer, the office phone rang.
Both of us looked toward it.
Nobody called my private command line.
Nobody except senior officials should even have the number.
I picked it up.
"Colonel Hayes."
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
"Congratulations."
I immediately recognized it.
Kyle Brody.
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Sergeant."
"I heard you finally decided to wear your uniform."
His voice carried confidence.
Not fear.
Not concern.
Confidence.
"You knew who I was."
A short laugh.
"Of course I did."
The room went completely still.
Captain Vane looked at me.
I put the phone on speaker.
"You knew?"
"Colonel, please."
Brody sounded amused.
"You really think yesterday was an accident?"
My eyes moved toward Vane.
"What are you saying?"
"I was testing you."
I almost laughed.
"Testing me?"
"Yes."
His tone became colder.
"We needed to know what kind of commander you would be."
The word "we" immediately caught my attention.
"Who is we?"
A pause.
Then:
"You'll find out soon enough."
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Captain Vane looked concerned for the first time.
"He contacted you directly?"
"Yes."
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
I turned toward him.
"What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed the flash drive from my desk.
"We need to leave."
"No."
My voice stopped him.
"You brought evidence into my office."
I stepped closer.
"You warned me about danger."
I looked him in the eyes.
"Now you are going to explain exactly what is happening."
For a moment, I thought he would refuse.
Then he sighed.
"Three years ago, Falcon Ridge had a different command structure."
"I know."
"No, Colonel."
His voice became serious.
"You know the official version."
He pointed toward the computer.
"The truth is different."
I opened the flash drive.
A single folder appeared.
No title.
No information.
Just one file.
July_14_Backup.
The same date.
My heart rate increased slightly.
I opened it.
A video appeared.
The quality was poor.
Security camera footage.
Inside the old maintenance hangar.
The timestamp showed three years earlier.
July 14.
A younger Kyle Brody walked into the frame.
Behind him was Daniel Reeves.
The frightened mechanic.
They were arguing.
I increased the volume.
At first, there was only static.
Then Brody's voice became clear.
"You should have kept your mouth shut."
Daniel stepped backward.
"I reported what you did."
Brody looked around.
"Who did you report it to?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Then another person entered the frame.
Someone wearing a command uniform.
But the face was hidden.
I leaned closer.
The person handed Brody a folder.
Brody opened it.
Then smiled.
The video suddenly cut.
The screen went black.
A message appeared.
FILE INTERRUPTED.
I looked at Vane.
"That's it?"
"No."
He looked at the screen.
"That's where someone wanted it to stop."
"Who?"
Before he could answer, the computer screen flickered.
A new file appeared.
Neither of us touched the keyboard.
A document opened automatically.
It was a personnel record.
My own personnel record.
Except it wasn't mine.
It was created yesterday.
The title read:
"COLONEL ELENA HAYES — THREAT ASSESSMENT."
I stared at the screen.
Someone had created a file analyzing me.
Before I arrived.
Before I took command.
Before I even stepped onto the base.
Then I saw the final line.
My blood went cold.
"PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: PREVENT COLONEL HAYES FROM DISCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT HER FATHER."
I looked at Captain Vane.
"Who wrote this?"
He didn't respond.
Because he was staring at something behind me.
Slowly, I turned around.
The office door was open.
May you like
A figure stood in the hallway.
And the person whispered my father's name.
