Chapter 2 - THE CALL NO ONE EXPECTED
Brooke tried to laugh.
“Fine. Sit wherever you want.”
I returned to my chair.
But I didn't sit.
My attention was on the metallic rectangle beneath her blazer.
It was partially hidden, but I knew military credentials better than I knew most people's faces.
The design was unmistakable.
The question wasn't why Brooke had one.
The question was why.
And whose?
My phone vibrated again.
I stepped away from the table.
“General Reed.”
“Ma'am, we've confirmed the badge belongs to Colonel Mercer.”
“How did it leave the installation?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Where was it last scanned?”
There was another pause.
“Atlas Meridian's distribution center in Fairfax.”
My eyes moved toward Brooke.
She was talking to a vice president.
Laughing.
Completely unaware that her evening was beginning to collapse.
“Any evidence of compromise?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“What kind?”
“Someone used the badge to access a restricted procurement database.”
My jaw tightened.
“What's the database?”
“Emergency logistics allocations.”
That was worse than I expected.
Emergency logistics information could reveal where supplies were being moved, which units were being supported, and which locations were considered vulnerable.
I lowered my voice.
“Lock down the credentials.”
“Already done.”
“Notify counterintelligence.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“And don't alert Atlas Meridian yet.”
“Understood.”
I ended the call.
When I returned to the table, Brooke was watching me.
“What was that?”
“Work.”
“You always say that.”
My mother rolled her eyes.
“She thinks she's so important.”
A few people laughed.
I looked at Mom.
“You have no idea.”
She stared at me.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing.”
Brooke leaned toward me.
“You know, Caroline, you could learn something from me.”
I almost smiled.
“Could I?”
“Yes.”
She pointed around the room.
“Look at these people. Executives. Decision makers. People with real careers.”
I looked around.
“Real careers?”
She nodded.
“You're forty-seven. Don't you ever get tired of pretending you're still going somewhere?”
The room went quiet.
I could have answered.
Instead, I asked:
“Brooke, where did you get that badge?”
Her expression changed.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But I saw it.
“What badge?”
“The one under your jacket.”
Her hand immediately moved toward it.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
The silver-haired man across the table suddenly stood.
His chair scraped backward.
“Excuse me.”
He walked quickly toward the restroom.
I watched him go.
Something about him bothered me.
Then the restaurant doors opened.
Three men entered.
Two were military police.
The third wore the uniform of a colonel.
Colonel Daniel Mercer.
He saw me.
His face went pale.
Then he straightened.
“Ma'am.”
The room fell silent.
Brooke looked confused.
Daniel walked directly toward me.
He stopped three feet away.
Then he saluted.
Perfectly.
Precisely.
The entire room froze.
My mother dropped her fork.
Dad stared.
Brooke's champagne glass stopped halfway to her lips.
Daniel lowered his hand.
“General Reed.”
Someone whispered:
“General?”
Brooke's face went white.
Daniel looked at me.
“We need to speak privately.”
I nodded.
“Let's go.”
But before I could move, Brooke stood.
“Wait.”
Daniel turned.
She pointed at him.
“You can't just come into my promotion dinner and—”
“Ma'am,” Daniel said calmly, “this isn't your promotion dinner anymore.”
Her face hardened.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel looked at me.
Then at Brooke.
Then at the badge beneath her jacket.
“That credential belongs to me.”
The room exploded into whispers.
Brooke instinctively covered it.
I said quietly:
“Don't touch it.”
She froze.
Daniel continued.
“That badge was reported missing this afternoon.”
Brooke shook her head.
“I don't have your badge.”
“Then what is under your jacket?”
She looked down.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely frightened.
I stepped closer.
“Brooke.”
She looked at me.
I held out my hand.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“Brooke.”
“You're humiliating me!”
I stared at her.
“No.”
I pointed toward the room.
“You did that yourself.”
Military police moved forward.
Brooke backed away.
Mom stood.
“Stop this!”
Dad followed.
“Caroline, whatever this is, handle it privately.”
I looked at him.
“This is already private.”
I gestured toward the forty-six guests.
“Until someone walked into this room carrying classified access credentials.”
Brooke suddenly reached inside her jacket.
The military police reacted instantly.
“Hands where we can see them!”
She screamed.
“I was only going to take it off!”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Don't.”
She stopped.
A small metal credential hung from her fingers.
Daniel looked at it.
Then at me.
“That's mine.”
I felt something cold settle inside me.
Because the missing badge wasn't the only problem.
I recognized the second item attached behind it.
A tiny electronic access token.
Those weren't issued to contractors.
They were issued to senior military personnel.
And someone had given Brooke access she should never have had.
I looked at my sister.
“Who gave you that?”
She said nothing.
“Brooke.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Then someone has been using you.”
My phone vibrated.
Another secure message.
I opened it.
The words made my blood run cold.
ATLAS MERIDIAN PROCUREMENT DATA BREACH CONFIRMED.
SUSPECTED INTERNAL FACILITATOR.
IDENTITY UNKNOWN.
I looked at Brooke.
She was standing beside the dinner table where she'd spent the last hour humiliating me.
May you like
And suddenly I wondered whether she had been the target.
Or the accomplice.
