The soldiers looked at each other.
Confused.
Uncertain.
Captain Royce stepped forward.
“Commander, Sergeant Kane discovered unauthorized access codes in her locker. We believe she’s connected to the missing weapons.”
A few heads nodded.
That had been the story all morning.
The story they wanted everyone to believe.
I looked directly at Royce.
Then I smiled.
“No,” I said calmly.
“You believe the lie will hold for another twenty minutes.”
The room froze.
Kane’s expression darkened.
“Careful, sweetheart.”
The word hit me like a distant echo.
Suddenly I was somewhere else.
A valley thousands of miles away.
Dust in the air.
Smoke everywhere.
My radio shattered.
My team bleeding beside me.
Men in clean uniforms making decisions from safe offices.
Deciding we were more useful dead than rescued.
I returned to the present.
And my smile widened.
For the first time that morning, Kane looked nervous.
Commander Voss noticed it too.
His voice dropped.
“Lena Cross is not her real operational designation.”
Captain Royce frowned.
“Sir… what does that mean?”
Before Voss could answer, Kane snatched my jacket from a nearby chair and threw it at my chest.
“Put that on,” he snapped.
“You’re done performing.”
I caught the jacket.
But I didn’t put it on.
Instead, I looked directly at him.
“You should have checked who signed my contractor authorization.”
Royce stepped closer.
“That’s enough.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You’ve already had enough time.”
Kane pointed a finger at me.
