Chapter 6
For a heartbeat, no one reacted.
Then the range exploded.
Marines shouted.
Some clapped.
Some just stared at the target, then back at Nora, as if the laws of the world had shifted.
Nora stayed behind the rifle.
Her eyes closed.
Her forehead rested against the stock.
She whispered so softly no one heard.
“Got it, Dad.”
Colonel Drummond removed his cap.
Then several older Marines did the same.
Hollister saw it and panicked.
He stepped forward.
“One lucky hit doesn’t change the fact that she used unauthorized equipment.”
The cheering stopped.
Nora slowly sat up.
Drummond turned to Hollister.
“You really want to do this right now?”
Hollister squared his shoulders.
“With respect, sir, standards matter.”
Drummond’s eyes hardened.
“They do.”
He reached into his folder and pulled out a sealed document.
“That’s why I reviewed the last six months of your evaluation reports.”
Hollister’s face changed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Drummond continued.
“Three female shooters removed from advanced selection after your recommendations. Two minority Marines marked unfit after one failed drill. And Nora O’Yellerin given three disciplinary notes for equipment violations that never existed.”
The range went quiet again.
A different silence.
A dangerous one.
Nora looked at Hollister.
She had suspected.
But hearing it in front of everyone made the hurt sharper.
Hollister forced a laugh.
“Sir, those are training judgments.”
“No,” Drummond said. “They are patterns.”
He looked at the rifle.
“And when I saw Marcus O’Yellerin’s name on that request form, I started asking questions.”
Hollister swallowed.
Drummond stepped closer.
“You denied her rifle twice, then altered the approval log after the weapons officer signed off.”
A murmur moved through the Marines.
Hollister snapped, “That rifle is outdated!”
Drummond’s voice rose for the first time.
“That rifle saved my life.”
May you like
The entire range froze.
Read Part 7 to hear the truth Colonel Drummond had carried for years.
