HONOR BURIED IN ASH

Dawn broke over the Chesapeake Bay in dull shades of iron gray and mist. The security perimeter at Naval Station Norfolk was at Threat Condition Delta—concrete barricades, razor wire, and armored Humvees manned by Marines with heavy machine guns. Marcus’s face was plastered on digital bulletins at every gate.

In the back of a commercial fish delivery van Lin had acquired through her underground network, Marcus stripped down to a clean service dress uniform Lin had sourced from a retired officer. He pinned his medals carefully onto the white wool chest.

Ava sat beside him, dressed in dark civilian clothes, her bruises concealed beneath a heavy coat and scarf. ""Marcus, this is suicide. Hayes will have guards outside his office door.""

""Hayes is a bureaucrat,"" Marcus said, checking the magazine of his service sidearm before slipping it into a concealed holster. ""He thrives on control. The moment he thinks he has the narrative won, he lets his guard down. He won't expect a frontal assault.""

""And what happens when the Marines open fire?"" she asked.

""They're sailors and Marines, Ava,"" Marcus said quietly. ""They swore an oath to the Constitution, not to a corrupt Admiral. If I give them the truth before Hayes gives the order to shoot, they will hesitate. And hesitation is all we need.""

Lin backed the van up to the service loading bay of the Admiral's headquarters building. ""I have the security cameras looped for exactly four minutes. You have to be inside the elevator before the maintenance loop resets.""

Marcus turned to Ava. He took her hands, his thumb gently caressing the knuckles that had fought back in that cellar. ""Wait in the van with Lin. If I don't signal in ten minutes, execute the dead-man protocol. Release whatever data we have to the international press.""

""No,"" Ava said firmly, stepping toward the cargo doors. ""I’m walking in with you.""

Marcus stared at her. ""Ava—""

""I was the victim in that room, Marcus,"" she said, her voice completely steady, her hazel eyes burning with fierce resolve. ""If you walk in alone, you're an angry soldier. If I walk in beside you, we are a reckoning. I am not hiding in a van while you take my fight.""