PART 5
Maddox turned.
His confidence collapsed so fast it almost looked painful.
Colonel Rebecca Hale stepped into view.
Tall.
Silver-haired.
Calm in the way storms are calm before they tear roofs off houses.
“Colonel,” Maddox said quickly. “Ma’am, this recruit was insubordinate.”
Colonel Hale walked toward them slowly.
Every recruit stood rigid.
Emily lowered her hand from her cheek.
Hale stopped beside the fallen backpack and picked up the dirt-covered photo.
For a moment, her face changed.
Not much.
But enough.
She knew him.
Emily’s breath caught.
Colonel Hale turned the photo toward Maddox.
“Do you know who this is?”
Maddox swallowed.
“No, ma’am.”
Hale’s eyes hardened.
“Interesting.”
Maddox forced a laugh.
“Private Carter has been disruptive since day one. Emotional. Defiant. She’s not fit for this program.”
Emily said nothing.
She had learned something from her father’s notebook.
Never interrupt a man while he is proving your case.
Colonel Hale looked at the line of recruits.
“Did Staff Sergeant Maddox strike Private Carter?”
Nobody spoke.
Maddox smiled faintly.
There it was.
May you like
Fear.
His favorite weapon.
