Chapter 5
A young corporal near the wall lifted his head.
“That’s true,” he said quietly.
Cole turned on him.
“What?”
The corporal swallowed.
“Ellis kept saying the rifle felt wrong before the drill.”
Cole’s face twisted.
“I told you not to repeat barracks rumors.”
Dalton stepped between them.
“Speak, Corporal.”
The corporal’s hands shook.
“He reported it twice. Sergeant Cole told him to stop making excuses.”
Another soldier spoke up.
“I heard that too, sir.”
Then another.
“Cole said if Ellis filed a complaint, he’d put him on every punishment detail until transfer.”
Cole’s breathing grew heavier.
Kira watched the room change.
Not because of her rank.
Not because of Dalton.
Because the first soldier had finally spoken.
Fear was losing its grip.
Cole looked at Kira with pure hatred.
“You came here to ruin me.”
Kira shook her head.
“I came here to stop the next malfunction.”
Cole laughed bitterly.
“You think you know weapons because you read manuals?”
Kira’s expression went still.
Dalton’s eyes darkened.
“Careful, Sergeant.”
But Cole was already too angry to stop.
“No, sir. I want to know. How does someone like her get sent into my armory with authority over my men?”
Kira said nothing.
Cole pointed at the name on her chest.
“Blackwell. That’s why, isn’t it? Someone pulled strings.”
The room went cold.
Dalton stepped closer.
“Sergeant Cole.”
Cole ignored him.
“Who is it?” he said to Kira. “Daddy a colonel? General? That how you got your little title?”
For the first time, Kira’s calm cracked.
Not in fear.
In grief.
Her eyes sharpened.
Her mouth pressed into a thin line.
Dalton’s voice turned hard.
“I said step back.”
Cole did not.
He leaned toward Kira.
“Tell us. Who’s your father?”
Kira looked at him for a long second.
Then she said softly,
May you like
“The man who built this armory.”
Read Part 6 to find out why the name Blackwell made every older soldier in the room freeze.
