Chapter 7 - The Ghost Speaks
The next morning, I did not go to my office. Instead, I drove down to the basement records division.
The concrete corridors were cold and damp. As I approached the room where Harlan was working, I could hear the low sound of voices from inside. I stopped near the door, my back pressed against the brick wall, listening.
“We have the decrypted files,” Harlan was saying, his voice filled with a desperate, triumphant energy. “Look at this transcript, Thomas. It’s right here. Carter says, 'Aborting extraction. Units on the ground must hold their position.' She left them there to die!”
“It’s perfect, Blake,” Major Cole’s voice replied. “With this, we can go to the local press. We’ll leak it to the San Francisco Chronicle as an exclusive investigative piece on the 'toxic cover-ups' of the new command staff. By the time Mercer figures out where the leak came from, the story will be national. He’ll have no choice but to relieve her of command to protect his own nomination.”
“I want to be there when she gets the news,” Harlan sneered. “I want to see her face when she realizes she’s going to spend the rest of her life in a military prison.”
I took a deep breath, adjusted my uniform—the olive-drab Class A uniform I had chosen to wear today, complete with the silver eagles of a colonel and the full display of my combat ribbons—and pushed the door open.
The heavy wooden door hit the frame with a loud, hollow boom that echoed off the concrete walls.
Harlan and Cole spun around, their faces instantly turning pale.
Cole immediately tried to slide a stack of papers under a file folder on the desk, but I was already moving. In three swift steps, I crossed the room, my hand slamming down onto the papers before he could hide them.
“Looking for something, Major?” I asked, my voice like dry leaves scraping over stone.
Cole tried to maintain his composure, standing up and offering a stiff salute. “Colonel Carter. We were just... organizing some historical files for the upcoming inspection.”
“With decrypted intelligence logs from Operation Broken Arrow?” I asked, holding up the papers. I didn't look at Harlan. I kept my eyes fixed on Cole, who was sweating through his service cap. “Do you know the classification level of these documents, Major?”
“Ma’am, those files were accessed through standard channels—” Cole began.
“These files are classified under Top Secret/SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information),” I said, my voice rising slightly, filling the small room with a terrifying authority. “Unauthorized access, distribution, or possession of these materials is a violation of the Espionage Act. It carries a minimum sentence of ten years in a federal penitentiary. And you, Captain Harlan...”
I finally turned my gaze to Harlan. He was trembling, his hands flat against the metal desk as if trying to keep himself from falling.
“You thought you were playing a game of politics,” I said, looking down at him. “You thought you could use the names of fallen soldiers to save your pathetic career. Sergeant Vance and Sergeant Reyes did not die because of a panic under pressure. They died because they volunteered to stay behind and hold off an enemy platoon so their teammates could escape. They were heroes, Harlan. You are a parasite.”
Harlan’s eyes darted toward the door, but two military police officers, accompanied by Mac, stepped into the room, blocking the exit.
“Major Cole, Captain Harlan,” I said, standing straight. “You are under arrest for unauthorized access to classified materials, conspiracy to commit espionage, and conduct unbecoming of an officer.”
“You can’t do this!” Harlan shrieked, his voice cracking. “My uncle will destroy you, Carter! He’s a two-star general! He’ll have your commission by tonight!”
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“Your uncle was briefed on this investigation two hours ago, Captain,” I said, my voice cold and flat. “He signed the warrant for your arrest himself. He has no intention of destroying his own career to save a nephew who doesn't even know how to read a seating chart.”
The military police stepped forward, grabbing Harlan’s arms and pulling them behind his back. The sound of the handcuffs clicking into place was the loudest sound in the room.
