The entire Georgia training base laughed when the quiet officer failed the emergency drill.
The entire Georgia training base laughed when the quiet officer failed the emergency drill.
But they stopped laughing when she looked at the burning helicopter and said,
“Nobody gets inside that aircraft.”
Captain Sarah Mitchell stood beside the runway as smoke poured from the training helicopter.
A group of soldiers stared at her.
One of them laughed.
“Captain, it's just a drill.”
Sarah didn't move.
“I know.”
Lieutenant Harris shook his head.
“You've been assigned here for two days. Maybe let the people who actually know this base handle it.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Turn off the engines.”
He smirked.
“Why?”
“Because the fuel line is leaking.”
The soldiers laughed again.
Then Colonel Robert Hayes stepped forward.
“Captain Mitchell, this exercise is under my command.”
Sarah met his eyes.
“Then I'm advising you to stop it.”
Hayes folded his arms.
“On what authority?”
Sarah pointed toward the helicopter.
“The fire isn't coming from the engine.”
The colonel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone started it.”
The laughter disappeared.
Hayes turned toward the helicopter.
“Get the emergency crew.”
Sarah grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at her sharply.
“Don't touch me, Captain.”
“There's an explosive device inside.”
Silence.
Someone whispered,
“How would she know that?”
Sarah didn't answer.
Instead, she pulled a small scanner from her jacket.
The device began to beep.
Once.
Twice.
Then faster.
Hayes stared at it.
“Everybody move!”
The soldiers scattered.
Three seconds later, a controlled blast tore through the helicopter.
Everyone froze.
The training yard fell silent.
Smoke rolled across the runway.
Hayes slowly turned toward Sarah.
“How did you know?”
Sarah put the scanner away.
“I recognized the wiring.”
“You've seen that device before?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
She hesitated.
“Afghanistan.”
The colonel stared at her.
“That incident was classified.”
“I know.”
Hayes stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
Sarah reached beneath her jacket and removed a black identification card.
She handed it to him.
His expression changed instantly.
SARAH MITCHELL — SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMAND
Hayes looked up.
“You're CID?”
“I'm here to investigate four unexplained equipment failures.”
Lieutenant Harris swallowed.
“Why wasn't the base informed?”
“Because someone inside this base has been warned every time investigators arrive.”
Hayes opened his mouth.
Then Sarah placed a folder on the hood of a nearby vehicle.
“Four vehicles.”
She opened it.
“Two weapons systems.”
“Three communications failures.”
“And now a helicopter.”
Hayes stared at the photographs.
“All connected?”
Sarah nodded.
“Every incident happened within forty-eight hours of a classified weapons transfer.”
The colonel's face hardened.
“Do you know who is responsible?”
“Not yet.”
A voice came from behind them.
“You should leave.”
Everyone turned.
Major Daniel Price stood near the maintenance hangar.
Sarah's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Price looked nervous.
“This isn't your investigation anymore.”
Hayes stepped forward.
“Major, what are you talking about?”
Price said nothing.
Sarah suddenly noticed something on his sleeve.
A small blue thread.
Her expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
Price looked down.
“What?”
Sarah walked closer.
“That thread.”
He took a step backward.
“It's nothing.”
Sarah looked at Hayes.
“The same material was found inside the sabotaged communications equipment.”
Hayes immediately reached for his radio.
“Security, detain Major Price.”
Price turned and ran.
“Stop!”
Two soldiers chased him.
Then every light on the base went out.
The gates slammed shut.
Red emergency lights began flashing.
A voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Base lockdown initiated.”
Hayes looked at Sarah.
“Did you trigger that?”
“No.”
The loudspeaker crackled again.
Then a second voice spoke.
“Captain Mitchell.”
Sarah froze.
It was a voice she hadn't heard in six years.
Her father's voice.
“Stop looking for the saboteur.”
Sarah's face went pale.
Hayes stared at her.
“Your father?”
She slowly shook her head.
“He died six years ago.”
The loudspeaker went silent.
Then the doors of the command building locked automatically.
Sarah looked toward Hayes.
“This isn't just sabotage.”
“What is it?”
She opened the final page of her investigation file.
At the bottom was a photograph.
Her father's face.
Standing beside Colonel Hayes.
Taken one week before his reported death.
Sarah looked at the colonel.
“You knew him.”
Hayes didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
“You told the Army my father died alone.”
His face went pale.
Sarah's voice trembled.
“So why is there a photograph of him standing beside you after the date of his death?”
The colonel looked toward the locked gates.
Then he whispered,
“Because he isn't dead.”
Sarah stopped breathing.
Before she could respond, every screen in the command building turned on at once.
A single message appeared:
WELCOME BACK, SARAH.
And beneath it:
YOUR FATHER HAS BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
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