Chapter 9 - The Colonel in Handcuffs
Hale had always imagined his career ending with a farewell speech, not a pair of plastic restraints. Two military police officers stood beside his desk while Major Voss took inventory of the evidence folder.
“Unauthorized contact with a classified casualty,” Voss said. “Pretty serious, sir.”
“She's alive,” Hale replied. “You saw her.”
“Paperwork says otherwise.”
The officers looked uncertain. They were following a lawful-looking order delivered through a system Voss controlled. Hale understood the trap: make the truth look like a paperwork violation, then silence everyone who objected.
He met the younger officer's eyes. “Call Judge Advocate General's office. Independently. Ask them to preserve this arrest record.”
Voss's smile thinned. “That won't be necessary.”
“It is if you're following the law.”
Far from the base, Olivia watched Hale's arrest image on Maya's phone. Her first instinct was to drive back and drag Voss out by his collar. Ben saw it in her face.
“That would give them exactly what they want.”
“So what do we do?”
“Give them something they can't lock up.”
Maya contacted Special Agent Rebecca Shaw, an independent military criminal investigator whose team had recently been assigned to financial corruption cases. Shaw couldn't promise a rescue, but she could verify Mara's drive and preserve it outside base systems.
“Don't email it,” Shaw warned. “I'll send a courier with a physical seal and two witnesses.”
Olivia asked, “What about my mother?”
“We have an address tied to the call. We're checking it.”
Ben looked at the deadline on the drive. “And the ceremony?”
“I'm requesting that it be canceled.”
“Requesting?” Olivia said.
Shaw's reply was grim. “Voss has already declared the event a security demonstration. He claims stopping it would create panic.”
The call ended. Olivia leaned against the truck and closed her eyes for one long breath. Nine years ago she'd escaped because Mara forced her to move while everyone else was afraid.
She opened her eyes. “We're not waiting for permission.”
Ben held up the brass key he had carried for years. “Then it's time I told you what else Mara left behind.”
May you like
He turned the key over. Stamped into the metal were two words: MARKER SEVEN.
THE MARK THEY TRIED TO ERASE •
