Chapter 3 - Number One

Avery hadn't spoken her brother's name aloud at Fort Calder. Nobody there was supposed to know it.

Daniel Mitchell had died after a night field exercise six months earlier. The Army called it a vehicle accident. The family had received a folded flag, a polished explanation, and a box containing his wristwatch without the strap.

She called her mother from the parking lot.

"Mom, did Daniel ever mention a training roster?"

Her mother went quiet. "He said something was wrong. He told me not to worry. That's when I started worrying."

"Did he say who?"

"He mentioned a sergeant. The name sounded like Bridges."

Briggs. Avery braced one hand against her car.

Her mother's voice trembled. "Honey, why are you asking?"

"Because someone thinks I won't ask again."

Avery promised to call that night and drove not to her quarters but to the outpatient clinic. The photographs of fourteen training injuries hung in a case-review folder that had been denied to her twice. The clinic director, Major Sloane, met her at the desk.

"I can't open those files without brigade approval."

"I'm the assigned medical readiness investigator."

"Your assignment says observe and recommend. Not interrogate."

Avery placed the C-17 insert on the desk, still sealed. "Is this normal?"

Sloane's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"

"Out of a combat glove aimed at my head."

Sloane opened a locked drawer and handed her a photocopy of an inventory slip. Twenty training inserts had been ordered under an equipment-research account. The signature belonged to Daniel.

"He was a logistics specialist," Avery said. "He didn't order weapons for hand-to-hand drills."

"I know," Sloane whispered. "He came to me the week before he died. He said somebody was using his access."

A door slammed somewhere behind them. Sloane flinched.

"Get a copy of the original order," Avery said.

"I can't. That computer account was erased."

"Who erased it?"

Sloane looked toward the surveillance dome in the ceiling. "Your brother's account was accessed two days after his funeral. Whoever signed in used Colonel Mercer's credentials."

Then Sloane's desk phone rang. The display showed BRIGADE COMMAND.

He answered, listened, and went pale. "She's standing right here, sir."

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He handed the phone to Avery.

Mercer said, "If you want to know what happened to Daniel, come alone."