PART 2 — THE RIFLE FAILURES WERE NO ACCIDENT
Hale’s eyes narrowed.
Chapter 2
PART 2: THE ADMIRAL POURED WATER ON HER RIFLE—WHAT KATHERINE FOUND BENEATH THE RECEIVER SILENCED AN ENTIRE COMMAND
784 words
“And you think they weren’t?”
“No.”
“Then what are you saying?”
Katherine lowered her voice.
“I’m saying someone deliberately introduced defective components into the military supply chain.”
The range went completely silent.
Even the wind seemed distant.
Hale stared at the fragments.
“That would require access to multiple contractors.”
“Yes.”
“Multiple procurement systems.”
“Yes.”
“Distribution schedules.”
“Yes.”
“And internal inspection records.”
Katherine held his gaze.
“Yes.”
Hale laughed once, but no one joined him.
“That’s absurd.”
General Vance stepped closer.
“We hoped it was.”
Katherine reached toward the diagnostic laptop.
The screen displayed serial numbers.
Dozens of them.
Hale glanced at the list.
Then something strange happened.
His face changed.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But Katherine saw it.
So did Vance.
Hale quickly looked away.
Katherine asked, “Recognize one?”
“No.”
“You looked at serial 7C-4419.”
“I looked at the screen.”
“Specifically at that number.”
Hale’s voice sharpened.
“Careful.”
Katherine turned toward the range officer.
“Sergeant Nolan, bring me rifle 4419.”
The man froze.
Hale snapped, “Nobody touches anything.”
Vance turned to him.
“You are no longer directing this range.”
The words landed heavily.
Hale stared at the general.
“Excuse me?”
“Bring the rifle,” Vance repeated.
Nolan hurried toward the storage rack.
Twenty seconds later he returned carrying the tagged rifle.
Katherine placed it beside the first.
Hale’s hands curled at his sides.
She dismantled the upper assembly with practiced speed.
Pin.
Carrier.
Spring.
Receiver.
Then she stopped.
Inside the housing was a narrow red inspection mark.
Katherine’s eyes hardened.
Vance noticed.
“What?”
“This one was inspected manually.”
“By whom?”
She looked toward Hale.
“His office.”
A murmur moved through the officers.
Hale’s face reddened.
“My office signs thousands of inspection authorizations.”
Katherine nodded.
“Which is why whoever did this believed no one would notice.”
“Whoever?”
“You didn’t
sabotage these rifles.”
The entire range seemed to stumble.
Hale blinked.
Even Vance looked at her.
“What?”
Katherine continued calmly.
“You’re arrogant. Reckless with people. Apparently reckless with evidence.”
Her eyes flicked toward the wet table.
“But you didn’t alter these parts.”
Hale’s confusion appeared genuine.
“Then why have you spent ten minutes staring at me like I’m guilty?”
“Because you’re hiding something else.”
Hale went still.
Vance stepped forward.
“Marcus?”
Nothing.
“Tell her.”
Hale looked around at the assembled officers.
His shoulders seemed to lose an inch of height.
“I received a warning.”
Katherine’s expression changed for the first time.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“What warning?”
Hale hesitated.
“An unsigned packet. Procurement numbers. Manufacturing dates.”
Vance’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“And you didn’t report it?”
“I thought it was an attempt to embarrass the command.”
Katherine stared at him.
“Where is it?”
“My office safe.”
“Who knew you received
it?”
“My chief of staff.”
Someone behind them dropped something.
A metallic clatter rang across the concrete.
Everyone turned.
Captain Elias Rourke stood three meters away.
His face had drained completely white.
Katherine looked at him.
Rourke backed up one step.
Then another.
Vance said, “Captain?”
Rourke turned.
And ran.
The range exploded into motion.
Two security personnel pursued him between the firing stations.
Katherine did not chase.
She looked at Hale.
“Your chief of staff?”
Hale nodded slowly.
Rourke reached the end of the concrete lane before security intercepted him. He struggled briefly before being restrained against the hood of a utility vehicle.
Vance exhaled.
“Well.”
Katherine shook her head.
“No.”
Vance looked at her.
“No?”
“Too easy.”
She stared toward Rourke.
“He wanted us to chase him.”
Then her eyes snapped toward the diagnostic table.
The water.
Hale’s canteen.
The receiver.
Katherine suddenly grabbed Hale’s wrist.
“What was in that canteen?”
“Water.”
“Where did you get it?”
“My vehicle.”
“Did you fill it yourself?”
Hale stopped breathing.
Vance barked, “Nobody touch the table.”
Katherine examined the metal surface.
A faint milky residue had begun forming where the water touched the internal parts.
Her stomach tightened.
“This isn’t just water.”
The contractors rushed forward with detection strips.
One dipped a strip into the liquid.
Its color shifted.
He looked at Katherine.
“Corrosive compound.”
Hale stared at the canteen.
“That’s impossible.”
Katherine understood.
The rifle had never been Hale’s target.
The table had.
Someone had known Katherine would examine the defective components.
Someone had known Hale’s temper.
Someone had known he would humiliate her if provoked.
And someone had prepared his canteen so that when he poured it across her work, the evidence would begin degrading in front of everyone.
Vance looked toward Rourke.
“He set Hale up.”
Katherine shook her head again.
“Rourke is the distraction.”
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