Chapter 5 - The First Witness
The dining hall emptied in a strange, uneven wave.
Some soldiers left because they had finished eating. Others left because they didn't want to be seen watching. A few stayed, pretending to study their trays while listening to every word.
Mercer asked the room to remain available for statements. Then he turned to Hayes.
“You will not speak to Lieutenant Colonel Morgan without counsel present.”
Hayes gave a sharp laugh. “You're making a spectacle out of a glass of water.”
“No,” Mercer replied. “You made a spectacle. I'm documenting it.”
The general's aides escorted Hayes to a separate office. Colonel Lang stayed behind, pale and careful.
“Lieutenant Colonel, I need your account of what happened.”
“You saw it.”
“I still need your account.”
I described the exchange, the words, the water, and the witnesses. I didn't embellish. I didn't need to.
A young private approached while I was signing the statement.
“Ma'am?”
I recognized him from the maintenance bay. Private First Class Daniel Cho. He had been assigned to the vehicle inspection team before his transfer.
“I saw the same thing at Redstone,” he said.
“Which thing?”
“People getting told to keep quiet. They changed the inspection dates after the fire. I have copies.”
Mercer looked at him. “Why didn't you report this earlier?”
Cho's eyes dropped. “My supervisor said I'd lose my clearance. My mother depends on my paycheck. I got scared.”
I knew that fear. It was one of the tools the people responsible had used.
“You're not in trouble for telling the truth,” I said.
He looked at my wet collar. “They'll come after you.”
“They already have.”
Cho reached into his uniform pocket and removed a folded maintenance card. He placed it on the table.
“This is from the truck that burned. The replacement part number doesn't match the invoice.”
Mercer took it with gloved hands.
“Where did you get this?”
“From the records room. I made a copy before they locked it.”
A headquarters officer stepped forward. “General, we need to secure the archive.”
Mercer nodded. “Do it.”
Then the lights flickered.
The dining hall went dark for two seconds.
When they came back on, the maintenance card was gone.
So was Private Cho.
I pushed back from the table.
“Daniel!”
Mercer was already moving.
May you like
At the far exit, a door swung shut. A security camera above it had been turned toward the wall.
Someone inside the building knew exactly what we were doing.
