Chapter 4
The man in the black suit gave a signal.
Then the shooting stopped on one side long enough for a convoy to pass through.
Caleb crawled through fire to reach a broken camera attached to a drone case.
His hands were bleeding.
Smoke burned his throat.
Bullets cracked over the rocks.
But Caleb kept moving.
He ripped out the memory chip before the enemy could destroy it.
Then he hid it in the only place they would never search.
Inside the damaged medal casing recovered from the dead asset’s pack.
A medal that would later be “mistakenly” returned to Caleb as part of his hero ceremony.
That was the trap.
Caleb had begged Colonel Shaw to let the ceremony happen.
Let them accuse him.
Let them get comfortable.
Let Hale believe the last witness was about to be publicly destroyed.
Because guilty men love an audience when they think they are winning.
Now the audience belonged to Caleb.
Colonel Shaw stepped onto the stage.
“Staff Sergeant Vance has been cooperating with counterintelligence for eleven weeks,” she announced. “The treason allegation was fabricated to force him into silence.”
Marcus Hale backed toward the rear door.
Two investigators blocked him.
His voice rose.
“This is insane. I work with the Department of Defense.”
Colonel Shaw looked at him coldly.
“You worked with anyone who paid you.”
Another investigator connected the medal to a small reader.
The large screen behind the stage flickered.
At first, there was static.
Then grainy footage appeared.
Smoke.
Gunfire.
Men shouting.
A burning vehicle in the desert.
Caleb’s breathing filled the speakers.
Then a voice came through.
Marcus Hale’s voice.
May you like
“Leave Vance alive. He’ll take the fall.”
Read Part 5 to see the footage that made the entire hall realize who the real traitor was.
