Chapter 2 - The Silence That Followed
The wind seemed to stop. The formation held its breath.
Whitaker was sixty-one, silver-haired, four stars gleaming on his shoulders. He didn’t take his eyes off her wrist. “Captain Carter. Answer me. Where did you get it?”
Hayes stepped between them. “General — this is not your concern. The citation is falsified, the mission never happened, and she is being relieved.”
“Step aside, Colonel.” Whitaker didn’t raise his voice, but there was steel in it. “I asked her.”
Emily pulled her sleeve down. Her heart hammered against her ribs. “I… I was told that record was sealed, sir.”
“Sealed?” Whitaker’s voice dropped. “Or buried?”
Behind him, a murmur rippled through the ranks. Hayes’s jaw tightened. “General, you’re interfering with administrative discipline—”
“I am asking a question.” Whitaker looked at her again. “That scar. It’s from a handcuff. Left on too long, in the cold, while someone was tied to a pipe in a basement that was collapsing. Am I right?”
May you like
Emily went pale. “Yes, sir.”
“Only one person was supposed to walk out of that basement.” He leaned in slightly. “And everyone said she didn’t exist.”
