Chapter 5 - Thunder at the Podium
"Passing command of the 4th Fighter Wing," the announcer boomed, "to Colonel Evelyn Vance."
Brody frowned slightly. Vance? Same last name as the General?
From behind the heavy velvet curtain at the side of the stage, a tall figure stepped out into the bright white spotlights.
She wore service dress blues. On her shoulders sat the gleaming silver eagles of a full Colonel. On her chest, beneath a triple tier of combat ribbons, rested the Command Pilot Wings and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor device. Her dark hair was pulled back into a flawless, regulation bun.
Her right arm moved with precise, athletic grace, carrying her military cover under her left arm.
The moment her face caught the bright stage light, the air seemed to vanish from Sergeant Kyle Brody’s lungs.
His eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated horror. Blood rushed from his face so fast he actually swayed on his feet, his knees unlocking as if he had been struck by a physical wave of force.
It was her.
The woman in the unmarked green flight suit. The woman whose hair he had grabbed. The woman he had shoved against the fuselage of F/A-18 bird 204. The woman he had put in handcuffs forty-eight hours ago.
Beside him, Chief Warrant Officer Miller gasped aloud, a strangled, pitiful sound that drew sharp glares from nearby officers.
Colonel Evelyn Vance took her place at the center podium. Her steel-gray eyes swept over the massive crowd of seven hundred airmen, scanning the formations until they locked directly onto the third row of the maintenance detachment.
Directly onto Kyle Brody.
A faint, ice-cold smile touched the corner of her lips for a fraction of a second before her face hardened into absolute command authority.
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"Sergeant," Miller stammered in a frantic whisper, his voice shaking so hard he could barely speak. "Brody... tell me that's her twin sister. Tell me that's not her."
Brody couldn't answer. His throat was completely paralyzed. His hands began to tremble inside his white dress gloves as he stared up at the woman holding the entire wing's destiny in her hands.
