Chapter 3 - The Shadow Protocol
""Get your gear,"" Vance ordered instantly, his voice dropping into the familiar cadence of battlefield command. ""Now.""
Elena didn't ask questions. Seven years of civilian maintenance work vanished in a split second, replaced by the survival instincts honed in the dust of Kunar. She reached beneath the mobile tool chest, flicked a hidden magnetic latch, and retrieved her personal SIG Sauer P320 and two spare magazines.
""Who are they?"" she whispered, racking the slide with a crisp, practiced metallic clatter.
""Private Security Directorate. Special Asset Recovery,"" Vance said coldly, keeping his hand inside his jacket, resting near his concealed sidearm. ""They don't report to the Joint Chiefs. They report to civilian overseers on the Oversight Committee. The men who stand to lose their fortunes if Miller speaks.""
The lead SUV stopped twenty paces away. Four contractors emerged, clad in sterile grey tactical plate carriers without insignia, carrying suppressed short-barreled carbines at the low ready. Their leader—a scarred man with cold, sunken eyes and a jagged burn across his jaw—walked forward, his hands empty but his posture radiating lethal confidence.
""Major General Vance,"" the scarred man said, his voice flat, gravelly. ""I’m Director Cole. Defense Intelligence Tasked Authority. You're in possession of unauthorized military intelligence pulled from the Secure Tactical Network this morning.""
""I hold Commander's Discretion, Mr. Cole,"" Vance answered, taking a step forward to place himself between Cole’s line of sight and Elena. ""You have no jurisdiction on an active Army airfield.""
""Under Presidential Directive 88, operational sovereignty over Task Force Aquila materials was transferred to private oversight two hours ago,"" Cole stated without blinking. He didn't raise his weapon, but the three men behind him shifted their stances, fanning out into a tactical wedge. ""Hand over the drive, General. And your daughter will need to come with us for debriefing.""
Elena stepped out from behind her father, the red folder tucked under her arm and her posture rock-steady. ""Debriefing? Or disappearance, Cole?""
May you like
Cole’s gaze flicked to the eagle tattoo visible below Elena's sleeve. A faint, venomous smirk played at the edge of his scarred lips. ""You always were stubborn, Corporal Vance. Miller thought he was protecting you when he hid that transponder. But he only painted a crosshair on your back.""
From the shadows of the mezzanine catwalk above them, a sudden red laser dot snapped onto Cole’s chest plate.
