Chapter 6 - The Shield of the Corps
By Tuesday afternoon, the counter-operation was fully underway.
Inside the central command center of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) at Washington Navy Yard, Special Agent Marcus Thorne pulled up three high-definition video feeds on the wall monitors.
Daniel and I stood beside Colonel Sarah Miller, watching the crisp playback.
The video showed the exact interaction in the hallway of the Officers' Club. The audio was crystal clear: “Dad’s company is three weeks away from foreclosure!... One phone call from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Navy will award the build contract to Greg!... It’s a stroke of a pen for you, Rebecca!”
Clear as daylight, the recording captured Vanessa demanding illegal contract manipulation, Greg attempting to bribe Daniel, and my explicit refusal to break military ethics laws.
“That’s not all, General,” Agent Thorne said, tapping his tablet to bring up a secondary file. “When your sister leaked those edited photos to the news network, we ran a forensic trace on her personal computer network. We uncovered five years of financial records from her husband’s firm, Apex Commercial.”
I tilted my head. “What did you find?”
“Apex Commercial hasn't just been losing money,” Thorne revealed, his face darkening. “For eighteen months, Greg Hasler and your father have been using your name, your rank, and forged letters bearing your forged signature on military letterhead to secure private bank loans totaling four million dollars.”
Daniel gasped. “They committed federal wire fraud using her identity?”
“Precisely,” Thorne confirmed. “They told three separate commercial lenders that General Rebecca Hayes was a silent partner in their firm and would guarantee government defense sub-contracts to cover the debt. They didn't just leak a lie to the press to humiliate you, General—they did it as a preemptive strike because they knew the bank loans were defaulting this Friday!”
I looked at the glowing screens displaying my forged signature beside photos of my father and sister.
The final illusion of blood loyalty dissolved into ash.
“Agent Thorne,” I said, my voice dropping an octave into absolute command. “Prepare a full press packet containing the unedited surveillance video, the forensic financial audit, and the criminal indictment warrants for wire fraud and forgery.”
“When do you want us to execute the warrants, General?” Thorne asked.
May you like
I looked at my watch.
“Thursday morning,” I answered. “Right in the middle of the Senate Ethics Hearing.”
