Chapter 2 - The Thing in Her Hand

Mara didn't look at the object until she reached the women's locker room. It was a small brass locker key, number 214, taped to a strip of paper. On it, someone had written three words in her brother's slanted handwriting: TRUST NO ORDERS.

Her brother Daniel had been dead eleven months. The Army said his convoy struck a roadside bomb overseas. She had buried an empty coffin because the remains were too damaged to return. She had accepted the folded flag while Rourke, Daniel's former operations officer, praised his courage.

Now the handwriting stared back at her.

A fist rattled the door. “Sergeant Bennett? Captain wants you in his office.”

“Tell him I'll be there in five.”

“Now, Sergeant.”

Private First Class Luis Ortega stood outside, face pale. He was usually the loudest joker in the unit. Today he wouldn't meet her eyes.

“What's wrong?” Mara asked.

“They searched your bag. Said it was a routine check.”

“Who did?”

“Men without name tapes.”

Mara slid the key inside her boot. “You didn't see me.”

In Rourke's office, a surveillance screen showed a frozen shot of her conversation with Liang. Rourke sat behind a clean desk, his bronze oak-leaf insignia polished brighter than the ceiling lights.

“An impressive performance,” he said. “You humiliated a civilian instructor I personally invited.”

“He asked to stop. I stopped.”

“What did he give you?”

Mara kept her face still. “A lecture on footwork.”

Rourke rose. “Your brother had a problem with following orders. Don't repeat his mistakes.”

“Is that a threat, sir?”

“It is career advice.” He slid a disciplinary form toward her. “Sign your acknowledgment.”

The alleged offense was misconduct during training. The date at the top was yesterday. The complaint had been filed before the fight occurred.

Mara looked at the signature line, then at him. “You knew what was going to happen before it happened.”

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Rourke's smile vanished. A phone buzzed on his desk. He checked it and reached for the blinds.

On the screen she caught six words: LIANG FAILED. MOVE TO SECOND OPTION.