Chapter 6
Commander Cole finally looked back at Briggs.
“You were warned about excessive force. You were warned about retaliation. You were warned about humiliating soldiers under your command.”
Briggs shook his head.
“No, sir. Those complaints were exaggerated.”
Riley spoke softly.
“Twelve soldiers filed statements.”
Briggs snapped toward her.
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes,” Riley said. “I do.”
She reached into the side pocket of her training vest and pulled out a small black recorder.
Briggs stopped breathing.
Riley held it up.
“You told Private Mason he would lose his recommendation if he reported a concussion.”
A young soldier in the crowd lowered his head.
“You told Corporal Hayes that women in combat were a political mistake.”
A woman in the third row clenched her jaw.
“You told Private Lewis his anxiety made him useless, then forced him back into a drill after medical pulled him.”
The field was silent except for Briggs’s breathing.
Riley stepped closer.
“And today, you tried to blow out my knee in front of five hundred witnesses because you thought I was too small to matter.”
Briggs looked at Commander Cole.
“Sir, she baited me.”
Cole’s face did not move.
“You kicked her.”
“It was a drill.”
“You aimed at her knee.”
“She moved into it.”
The camera operator shifted.
Cole looked toward him.
“Replay the footage.”
A large monitor near the officers’ tent flickered on.
Everyone turned.
The video played back.
Briggs lunging.
His boot driving toward Riley’s knee.
The angle clear.
The intent obvious.
No one spoke.
Then the clip showed his face.
His smile.
His words.
“You’re just a little girl playing soldier.”
May you like
Briggs looked away.
Read Part 7 to find out why the soldiers finally stopped staying silent.
