Chapter 7
Kincaid nodded once.
Then he turned to Emily.
“Captain Hayes, did you receive a lawful order to abandon soldiers under active fire?”
Emily hesitated.
The word lawful mattered.
Everyone knew it.
She answered carefully.
“I received an order, sir.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Emily looked at Barrett.
Then at the wounded men.
“No, sir. Not lawful.”
Barrett exploded.
“You are not a lawyer, Captain.”
Kincaid’s voice cut through him.
“And you are no longer in command of this flight line.”
Barrett froze.
Kincaid looked to the officers behind him.
“Colonel Marcus Barrett is relieved pending investigation for dereliction of duty, obstruction of emergency response, misuse of command authority, and conduct unbecoming.”
Two security forces airmen stepped forward.
Barrett looked around as if someone would defend him.
No one did.
The pilots he had mocked said nothing.
The mechanics he had ignored said nothing.
The medics kept working.
The wounded watched.
Barrett’s voice dropped.
“You can’t do this in front of the whole base.”
Kincaid’s eyes hardened.
“You tried to destroy her in front of the whole base.”
That ended it.
The security forces airmen escorted Barrett off the runway.
He did not shout anymore.
He did not point.
He did not look powerful.
He looked small.
When he passed Emily, he leaned close enough to whisper.
“This isn’t over.”
Emily looked straight through him.
“For Alpha 3, it almost was.”
May you like
Barrett had no answer.
Read Part 8 to see what happened after the man who tried to ruin Raven 13 was taken away.
