Chapter 2: What Was Waiting in the Dark
I didn't panic.
I pressed one key on my console and spoke four words into the encrypted line that had been open since 04:00.
"They're at the door."
The response came back immediately.
"We see them.
Hold your position."
Thirty seconds later, the breaching charge detonated.
The door blew inward.
Harrison stepped through the smoke first, g*n raised, already shouting — "Claire, stand down, we're here to help you—"
He stopped.
The tactical team stopped behind him.
Every weapon lowered.
Standing in my living room were not frightened civilians.
There were six of them.
Suits.
Badges.
One held a federal warrant.
Another was already recording on an official device.
And at the center of the room, seated calmly with a folder on her knee, was a woman Harrison recognized immediately.
His face went the color of ash.
"Commander Vance," she said, without standing.
"We've been waiting for you."
"That's — you can't be here," he whispered.
"You have no jurisdiction over—"
"We have jurisdiction over everything in that folder," she said.
"Including the defense stipends.
Including Berlin.
Including what your mother signed in 2019."
Harrison turned to look at me.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then his knees gave way.
But what was inside that folder — and what Patricia had signed — was something even I hadn't fully seen yet.
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What was in that folder — and how deep does this go?
The full truth is in the link below.
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