Chapter 5 - The Midnight Briefing
At 11:00 PM, the secure red phone on my desk finally rang.
I picked it up immediately.
“Commander Vance,” a deep, gravelly voice announced. It was Captain Reynolds, the base commanding officer. “I just stepped out of a secure conference with the federal magistrate and the NCIS regional director.”
“I’m listening, Captain,” I said, standing up and buttoning my uniform jacket.
“Your sister’s stunt today wasn't just an emotional outburst,” Reynolds said grimly. “NCIS ran a deep-dive background check on the catering company she works for. Turns out, their corporate parent company is currently under federal investigation for illegal subcontracting and unauthorized access to secure defense zones.”
My blood ran cold. “You’re saying Gwen didn't just wander onto the pier by accident?”
“We don't think she acted alone,” Reynolds replied. “Someone in that catering outfit directed her specifically toward your inspection sector today. They knew what you were carrying, and they used your family connection to create a distraction—or worse, to compromise your gear.”
The pieces of the puzzle suddenly snapped together with terrifying clarity.
Gwen hadn't just shown up out of random jealousy. She had been manipulated—used as an ignorant pawn by corporate operatives trying to sabotage our federal infrastructure inspection.
“What are her current orders?” I asked, my voice hardening into pure steel.
“She’s being held at the federal detention facility downtown pending arraignment tomorrow morning,” Reynolds said. “The magistrate is ready to throw the book at her—five to ten years for federal property destruction and security breach.”
I stood in the center of my office, looking out at the dark, starlit waters of the Mayport basin through the reinforced glass window.
For nineteen years, my family had accused me of abandoning them, of caring more about the Navy than about my own flesh and blood. They thought my uniform was a cold, unfeeling costume.
They were wrong.
The uniform didn't make me heartless. It taught me how to protect the people I loved—even when they were too blind to realize they needed saving.
“Don't drop the charges, Captain,” I said quietly, a fierce, resolute light burning in my eyes. “Not yet.”
May you like
“What do you have in mind, Commander?”
“If someone used my sister to target my command,” I replied, reaching down to pick up my cap, “I’m going to use the full weight of the United States Navy to hunt them down.”
