Chapter 12 - THE MAN FROM THE OLD UNIT
Maya had not spoken to Sergeant Dalton in nearly three years.
She had hoped never to again.
Captain Cole sent the screenshots to the Inspector General and ordered the selection process suspended.
This time, battalion could not quietly restart it.
By afternoon, investigators were on post.
Rourke was removed from training duties pending review.
He smiled when the order was handed to him.
“Enjoy your victory lap, Bennett.”
“This isn’t a victory.”
“No. It’s your pattern.”
“What pattern?”
“Everybody around you ends up under investigation.”
Maya stepped closer.
“Maybe stop doing things worth investigating.”
His smile vanished.
That evening she received a call from an unknown number.
A familiar voice said, “You always did love paperwork.”
Maya went cold.
“Dalton.”
“You remember me.”
“I remember Eli Ruiz learning to walk again.”
Silence.
Then Dalton laughed softly.
“You think Rourke invented this? He asked me about you. I told him the truth.”
“You told him to target me.”
“I told him what happens when people let you get comfortable.”
Maya started recording the call.
Dalton continued.
“You should’ve learned three years ago. Nobody trusts a soldier who turns on her own.”
Maya’s voice stayed calm. “Ruiz was my own.”
That stopped him.
She added, “That’s the part you never understood.”
The line went dead.
Ten minutes later, Captain Cole called.
“Maya, don’t leave your room.”
“Why?”
“IG found something in Rourke’s personnel email.”
“What?”
“A chain with Dalton. Months of messages.”
Maya sat down.
Cole’s next words landed harder.
“They were discussing you before your transfer orders were even finalized.”
Maya looked at the locked door.
“How would Dalton know where I was going?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
Then Cole paused.
“And Maya?”
“Yes?”
May you like
“Someone in personnel gave them your assignment information.”
The retaliation had been organized before she ever arrived.
