Chapter 6
The farthest steel plate had a fresh mark almost perfectly in the center.
But that wasn’t what made Harlan’s face go pale.
On the dirt berm behind Ava’s earlier targets, her missed shots were visible.
Five impacts.
Not scattered.
Not wild.
Grouped so tightly they could be covered by a fist.
All of them off by the same exact distance.
Harlan lifted his head slowly.
Someone whispered, “She wasn’t missing.”
Another soldier said, “The rifle was off.”
The assistant instructor checked the weapon.
Then his expression hardened.
“Rear sight’s been cranked out.”
Harlan snapped, “What?”
The assistant instructor looked at him.
“Way out. No way she did that during the drill. It was already like this.”
The words hit the range harder than the bullet had.
Already like this.
For the first time, Harlan looked away from Ava.
Then the radio on the range table crackled.
“Range control to Lane Seven. Hold all fire. Colonel Hayes is inbound.”
Harlan’s face changed again.
This time, it was fear.
A black SUV rolled through the dust five minutes later.
Everyone stood at attention before it fully stopped.
The door opened.
Colonel Margaret Hayes stepped out.
She was not a woman who needed to raise her voice.
The whole range already belonged to her.
She walked straight to Lane Seven.
Her eyes moved from Ava to the rifle to the targets.
Then to Harlan.
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“What happened here?”
Read Part 7 to see what Harlan said when the truth was standing right in front of him.
