Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO STOPPED
Kane found Elena in the equipment room after midnight.
She was sitting alone on a bench, studying the silver pendant beneath a dim overhead lamp.
He stopped at the doorway.
“Colonel Hayes told you about her.”
Elena did not look up.
“He told me you were there.”
Kane stepped inside.
“Your mother was my commanding officer.”
“And you allowed the unit to believe she was a traitor.”
His face tightened.
“I was nineteen.”
“You were old enough to remember what happened.”
“I remember too much.”
Elena closed the pendant.
“Then talk.”
Kane glanced toward the hallway.
“Not here.”
They moved into an abandoned storage room at the far end of the building. Dust covered the shelves. The only light came from a narrow window near the ceiling.
Kane shut the door.
“Your mother was not a traitor,” he said.
Elena’s throat tightened despite herself.
“What happened?”
“She discovered someone was leaking mission data. She warned the commander.”
“Who was the commander?”
“Colonel Voss.”
Elena had heard the name. General Adrian Voss had retired several years earlier after a decorated career. He was now a respected security consultant who appeared on television whenever national defense was discussed.
“He was in charge of the investigation?”
“He was the highest-ranking officer involved.”
“Did he kill her?”
Kane looked down.
“I don’t know.”
“That is not good enough.”
“I saw her alive after the convoy attack. She had been wounded, but she was moving. She told me to take the surviving soldiers east.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Kane’s eyes darkened.
“Because I received an order from Voss to abandon her.”
Elena stood.
“And you obeyed?”
“I was trapped under the vehicle. By the time I got free, the helicopter had arrived.”
“What helicopter?”
“One sent by Voss.”
“And my mother?”
“Gone.”
Kane’s voice dropped.
“The official story was created before we returned to base.”
Elena felt the room turn cold.
“You knew she was alive.”
“I knew she was alive that night.”
“And you said nothing?”
“I tried.”
“Who stopped you?”
Kane’s silence answered.
“Voss threatened my family,” he said. “My younger brother was serving overseas. Voss had enough influence to destroy his career and make him disappear into a prison cell.”
Elena stared at him.
“You let my mother carry the blame to protect your brother.”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
Kane looked at the floor.
“I have spent eight years trying to find proof.”
“Why didn’t you go to Hayes?”
“I did. He was removed from the case before he could help.”
Elena opened the pendant again.
“Your name was on the photograph.”
Kane nodded.
“Your mother trusted me.”
“She left a message saying to trust the man who stops.”
His eyes moved to the pendant.
“Then she was talking about me.”
Elena studied him.
“You stopped your fist today.”
“I never intended to hit you.”
“You wanted everyone to think you did.”
“I needed to see whether you knew how to face fear.”
“And?”
Kane looked at her.
“You face it like she did.”
Before Elena could reply, the lights in the storage room went out.
A soft click came from the corridor.
Kane pushed Elena behind him.
The door opened slowly.
A figure wearing a black training mask stood outside.
Kane raised his weapon.
The figure threw a metal cylinder into the room.
Smoke exploded across the floor.
Kane grabbed Elena’s arm and pulled her toward the emergency exit. They moved through the darkness as a sharp crack echoed behind them.
A bullet struck the metal shelf.
When they reached the stairs, Elena looked back.
The masked intruder had disappeared.
On the floor, beneath the smoke, lay a single black card.
Kane picked it up.
May you like
One sentence had been printed in white:
THE TRAITOR IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
