Chapter 6 - The Order Nobody Signed
Daniel read the note twice beneath the flashing lights. His face tightened around a memory he had spent years trying to bury.
“I gave the order to move out,” he said.
Elena stepped away as though he'd pushed her. “What?”
“I was team leader. Marcus warned me the cargo wasn't right. I reported the warning, and command sent a written instruction to proceed.”
“But Marcus said to ask who really gave the order.”
“Because the document in the investigation had my signature,” Daniel said. “I never signed it.”
Andrew looked up. “My father's company made the command software. Could someone forge a digital approval?”
“Easily, with privileged access.”
The detective offered to put the family in protective custody while investigators sought warrants. Elena refused to leave without her mother, and Sophie refused to release the rabbit. They all ended up in a small police interview room, drinking vending-machine coffee that tasted like warm cardboard.
Daniel told them about the valley. The convoy had entered at dawn. Their communications failed at 6:14. An explosion destroyed the lead vehicle. Marcus had dragged two wounded soldiers into a ditch. Daniel remembered trying to call for helicopters and hearing only static.
“I got three men out,” he said. “I left six behind because the road collapsed and I couldn't stand.”
Elena held her daughter's hand. “You survived. That's not a crime.”
“Some days it feels like one.”
Andrew received a message from Victor: Come home. We can fix this before people get hurt. He deleted it, then thought better of the decision and restored the message from his notification history.
The detective returned with an update. The gunshot on the hotel road had been reported. State police were looking for the van. Federal agents were on their way.
“Which agents?” Daniel asked.
“Someone from Defense Criminal Investigative Service.”
Daniel frowned. “We sent them evidence once. The investigator died in a car wreck before he could testify.”
Andrew looked at the storage key in Sophie's hand. “Maybe this time we keep copies in ten places.”
Daniel studied the locker number. It belonged to a private storage facility outside Fredericksburg, nearly an hour away.
May you like
Then his own phone buzzed with a photograph taken inside that facility.
The locker door was already open.
