Chapter 4 - The Man in the Reflection
I knew the watch before I knew the face.
A black dial.
Silver case.
Thin leather strap.
A tiny scratch near the clasp.
I had seen it when Colonel Brooks came into the club.
But the watch had belonged to someone else.
Someone I trusted far more than Brooks.
My own deputy chief of staff, Colonel Daniel Mercer.
“Pause it,” I said.
Torres froze the video.
The reflection remained.
I stared.
Brooks looked over my shoulder.
“You know who that is?”
“I know what he’s wearing.”
“That isn’t enough.”
“No.”
I turned.
“Where is Colonel Mercer?”
Brooks looked at me.
“He was supposed to be at headquarters.”
“Supposed to be?”
“Yes.”
I checked my phone.
Three missed calls.
All from Mercer.
No voicemail.
I called him.
He answered on the second ring.
“General?”
“Where are you?”
Silence.
“I’m at headquarters.”
“No, you aren’t.”
His breathing changed.
“Ma’am?”
“Come to the officers’ club.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
He hesitated.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“The kind that makes lying dangerous.”
He did not answer.
“Colonel?”
“I’ll be there.”
The call ended.
Torres looked at me.
“Ma’am, should we have him detained?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if he is involved, I want him talking.”
Brooks stepped forward.
“You trust him?”
“No.”
That answer surprised even me.
Brooks looked exhausted.
“Then you understand how I feel.”
“Not yet.”
He flinched.
I went back to the video.
There was more.
The young version of me was holding a folder.
Vale leaned in.
Brooks stood near the door.
The mysterious man remained in the reflection.
Then the video cut.
Another scene appeared.
A hallway.
Vale speaking to someone.
The face still hidden.
I turned up the volume.
Vale’s voice was clear.
“She gets the promotion only if she signs.”
The unseen man replied,
“She won’t.”
“She will.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Vale smiled.
“Then we make sure everyone believes she committed fraud.”
I felt my throat tighten.
That had been the accusation.
Not a mistake.
A strategy.
The video ended.
Torres whispered,
“They planned your career.”
I stared at the black screen.
“No.”
“What, ma’am?”
“They planned my silence.”
The club doors opened.
Daniel Mercer walked in.
Tall.
Immaculate.
Calm.
Exactly as he always was.
He stopped when he saw the room.
His gaze moved from the evidence table to Brooks.
Then Hale.
Then me.
“General.”
“Colonel.”
He glanced at my coat.
“You’re still wearing civilian clothes.”
“I had planned to leave them on.”
His eyes dropped briefly toward my collar.
The smallest reaction.
Too small for most people.
Not for me.
“You recognize the significance now,” I said.
He swallowed.
“Ma’am?”
“The stars.”
Mercer smiled.
“I knew you were coming.”
The room went still.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I was informed.”
“By whom?”
“Headquarters.”
“That is not an answer.”
He looked at Brooks.
Then back to me.
“We should discuss this privately.”
“No.”
He sighed.
“General, there are matters of command security—”
“Why did you call me three times before I reached this club?”
“I needed to warn you.”
“About what?”
He hesitated.
“About the investigation.”
“What about it?”
“You were being watched.”
Torres stiffened.
Brooks stepped closer.
“By whom?”
Mercer ignored him.
“General, I think you should leave tonight.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because whoever is behind this knows you are here.”
I walked closer.
“So do you.”
His face tightened.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“Possibly.”
I pointed toward the screen.
“Do you own a black watch with a silver case?”
Mercer’s hand stopped moving.
That was enough.
Torres drew a breath.
Brooks whispered, “Daniel…”
Mercer looked at him.
Something passed between them.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
I saw it.
“You two knew.”
Mercer said nothing.
I felt betrayed all over again.
“Answer me.”
Mercer finally spoke.
“Yes.”
“Were you here twenty-three years ago?”
“Yes.”
“What were you doing?”
“Following orders.”
“Whose?”
He stared at the floor.
“Vale’s.”
Hale laughed from the other side of the room.
Mercer looked at him.
“You should not be talking.”
“And you shouldn’t be pretending.”
Mercer’s face hardened.
“General, there is information you do not have.”
“Then give it to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because it concerns you.”
I walked closer.
“You have been serving under me for three years.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve had access to my records.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve handled confidential correspondence.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me you were involved in the investigation that nearly ended my career.”
“No.”
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because someone threatened your life.”
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“What?”
Mercer’s voice lowered.
“After the first investigation failed, Vale changed tactics.”
“How?”
“He stopped trying to destroy your career.”
“Then what?”
“He tried to destroy you personally.”
Torres whispered, “Ma’am…”
Mercer continued.
“There was an order.”
“What order?”
He looked directly at me.
“To make sure you never discovered who had funded the original investigation.”
“Who?”
Mercer’s eyes shifted toward Brooks.
Brooks took a step backward.
Then Mercer said the words that shattered what little trust remained.
“The money came from inside your own family.”
I felt the floor tilt beneath me.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Mercer shook his head.
“I was never supposed to tell you.”
“Colonel.”
“It was your father.”
I stared at him.
My father had died twelve years earlier.
He had spent the last years of his life telling me how proud he was.
Or so I had believed.
I looked at the old photograph.
My younger self.
Brooks.
Vale.
And the reflection wearing Mercer’s watch.
A strange calm settled over me.
“Then we are going to find out exactly what my father paid for.”
Mercer’s face changed.
“General, there is one more thing.”
“What?”
May you like
He reached into his coat.
Before he could remove anything, the club’s security alarm began screaming.
