Chapter 3 - Assuming Command
The primary gate at Fort Belvoir was manned by three armed Military Police officers in full tactical gear. As my truck pulled up to the entry lane, the lead Sergeant stepped out, glanced at my military ID, and his posture instantly snapped to attention.
"Good morning, Colonel," the Sergeant said, saluting crisply. "Welcome to the installation, ma'am. The General's motorcade just arrived at headquarters."
"Thank you, Sergeant," I replied, returning the salute with effortless military precision.
I parked in the designated spot reserved for the Commander of the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade. Walking through the heavy steel security doors of the Intelligence Operations Center, the hum of server racks, encrypted radios, and bustling intelligence analysts filled the air.
Nobody stared at my shaved head. In this building, soldiers saw rank, discipline, and authority.
Major Sarah Jenkins, my newly appointed Executive Officer, stood waiting at the entrance of the primary briefing room with a thick digital tablet in hand. She looked at me, her eyes tracking my altered appearance for a microsecond before her face settled into pure professional focus.
"Attention on deck!" Major Jenkins barked.
Thirty senior officers, intelligence analysts, and civilian contractors instantly stood at rigid attention.
"At ease," I said, walking to the head of the briefing table. I set my officer's cap down on the polished mahogany surface. "Major Jenkins, give me the morning readiness report."
"Ma'am, all battalion elements are green across the board," Jenkins reported smoothly. "Counter-intelligence teams are active in the national capital region. However, we received an automated red-flag alert from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency ten minutes ago."
I raised an eyebrow. "Regarding?"
"A fraudulent credit verification request was pinged against your security file at 0400 hours, ma'am," Jenkins said, sliding the tablet across the table to me. "Someone attempted to use your active Top Secret/SCI clearance credentials to secure a federal government contractor loan for a commercial property in Richmond. The system flagged it as an unauthorized domestic breach."
A cold smile touched my lips. Ryan and Linda were already moving to finalize their fraud, believing I was currently filling out my discharge paperwork.
"Major Jenkins," I said calmly, looking around the room at my staff. "We have an active domestic financial crime involving identity theft, military credential fraud, and unauthorized exploitation of an active brigade commander's security profile. I am authorizing an immediate internal counter-intelligence inquiry."
Jenkins didn't hesitate. "Understood, Colonel. Do you want us to involve federal law enforcement?"
"Not yet," I replied, my voice dropping into the authoritative register that had guided operations in active war zones. "Assign Captain Miller from our cyber-investigations branch. I want a complete digital wiretap on the Richmond commercial property accounts, every bank record tied to Ryan Vance and Linda Vance, and a full mirror of their personal communications. I want every line of their financial network exposed by 1800 hours today."
"Consider it done, ma'am," Jenkins said.
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I looked down at the tablet screen. The paper trail was clear, legal, and ironclad. Ryan had thought he was playing a game of domestic control against a quiet wife.
He had no idea he had just walked directly into the crosshairs of an Army Intelligence Brigade.
