Chapter 1 - The Breach of Perimeter
The yellowed piece of ruled legal paper lay stark against the dark floorboards. I picked it up using the edge of my sleeve, careful not to smudge any latent oils.
Three lines, scrawled in Landon’s jagged, heavy-handed penmanship:
*“Forty-eight hours, Barrett. You co-sign, or the command board at Fort Bragg gets an anonymous package detailing stolen medical supplies and narcotics misuse. Sign the paper, or lose your rank.”*
A cold fury settled in my chest, steady and controlled. In triage, panic got people killed. Blackmail was no different—it was merely an infection that needed to be cleaned and cauterized. Landon and Mara were desperate enough to manufacture court-martial accusations against an active-duty Army captain just to protect their lifestyle.
I pulled out my encrypted burner phone and dialed a secure number. Major Caleb Vance—former JAG attorney and my oldest friend since our first deployment in Kandahar—answered on the second ring.
"Vance," came his brisk voice.
"Caleb, it's Barrett. The parasites finally escalated from guilt to extortion. I need full surveillance logs on my address, forensic file imaging, and a complete financial forensic pull on Landon Croft and Mara Barrett."
May you like
A pause on the line. Then Caleb’s low chuckle. "I warned you they’d crack once the money ran dry. Send me the note. Don’t engage. Let them dig their own grave."
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