Chapter 5 - THE CADET WHO COULDN'T LAUGH
I sent the threat to a local detective, then sat outside the hospital until the night shift changed. I wanted whoever sent it to know I wasn't hiding.
Drew Walker found me instead. He wore academy sweats and carried his cap in both hands, twisting it until the brim bent.
“I didn't think you'd answer my text,” he said.
“Was that yours?”
“No. I sent one that said I needed to talk. Then I deleted it.”
We sat under the humming hospital sign. Drew kept watching the parking lot.
“Ryan always starts with jokes,” he said. “You laugh once, and then he makes you prove you're loyal. Mason laughs because he likes it. Tyler laughs because he's scared. I just... keep my mouth shut.”
“You didn't laugh today.”
“Not at the end.”
He pulled out his phone. The courtyard video lasted eighteen seconds. Ryan's pistol touched my head; his voice was clear; my response was controlled. The camera caught the visiting mother's terrified expression, too.
“Why didn't you show security?” I asked.
“Mercer wanted my phone. He said recording academy discipline violated policy. I told him it died.”
“Make a copy before you lose it.”
Drew swallowed. “You don't understand. Ben had a camera during Iron Gate. Ryan took it when Ben collapsed. I saw him put it in his locker.”
“Did you see what happened to Ben?”
“I heard him beg them to open the door.”
He stopped, suddenly pale, as an academy SUV turned into the lot. Its headlights washed over us. Drew stood so fast his cap fell.
“Don't go back with them,” I said.
A window lowered. Chief Mercer looked past me at Drew.
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“Get in, cadet. Your father says you're not safe with her.”
Drew whispered, “My father's been dead for six years.”
