Chapter 2 - The Chain of Command
Sitting under the shade of the oak trees, I watched the distant outline of my lake house through the windshield. Laughter and muffled bass music echoed across the water.
They were celebrating. They thought they had won.
My phone buzzed. It was Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Vance, my executive officer at the base, picking up on the secure line.
“Commander,” Marcus’s sharp, professional voice filled the cabin. “Operation prep is on schedule, but the duty desk flagged an urgent personal transmission from your secure frequency. Are you compromised?”
“Negative, Marcus,” I replied, my tone icy and controlled. “I am currently outside my private residence in Virginia. My civilian relatives have occupied my property without authorization, changed the locks, and forcibly evicted me.”
There was a dead silence on the other end of the line for three seconds. Then, a low, dangerous rumble echoed from Marcus.
“Repeat that, ma’am? Civilians occupied a superior officer’s private estate?”
“That is correct. Furthermore, my brother-in-law is currently operating under the assumption that I am a defenseless corporate drone he can bully off my own land. I require a tactical enforcement detail and my legal counsel dispatched to my coordinates immediately.”
“Consider it done, Colonel,” Marcus said, his voice hardening into steel. “We have MPs on standby for base perimeter drills. I’ll divert two transport vehicles and a military police squad to secure your property under federal jurisdiction clauses, citing domestic security and unauthorized intrusion on active-duty personnel housing.”
“Make sure they bring bolt cutters, Marcus. We’re going to need them.”
“Understood, ma’am. ETA twenty minutes.”
I hung up and dialed my attorney, Arthur Sterling.
“Arthur,” I said immediately.
“Emily? You sound tense. Are you back from deployment?”
“I’m sitting half a mile from my lake house. My sister and her husband gave my house keys to twenty squatters, threw my personal belongings into the hallway, and ordered me off the premises.”
Arthur let out a sharp whistle. “Tell me you have the deed in your name alone.”
“Sole ownership. Bought entirely with my personal funds before we even met. No familial ties on the title whatsoever.”
“Oh, they are about to experience a legal apocalypse,” Arthur chuckled darkly. “Trespassing, unlawful conversion of property, destruction of private assets, and breaking and entering. Do you want me to file criminal charges immediately?”
“Let the military police secure the perimeter first, Arthur. Then you can show up with the injunctions and eviction notices. I want every single one of them served simultaneously.”
“On my way, Emily. Don’t let them touch anything valuable.”
May you like
I slipped the phone back into my pocket, leaned back against the headrest, and watched the sun dip lower behind the trees.
They had twenty minutes of peace left.
