Chapter 12 - The Officer's Chest
The following afternoon, David returned to the Sterling mansion to search his late brother's former quarters.
In the back of the attic, sitting beneath a dust cover, was Captain Thomas Vance's original military trunk.
David used his brother’s dog tags to unlock the heavy brass latch on the front of the wooden chest.
Inside lay folded dress uniforms, military commendations, and a sealed steel container stamped with the Pentagon seal.
David opened the container, pulling out a leather journal and a encrypted satellite drive.
A handwritten note from Thomas fell onto the floorboards:
"David, if you are reading this, I did not die in an accident at sea."
"The Sterling Defense Group sabotaged my vessel's navigation system to seize my naval propulsion codes."
David gasped, reading the final line written in his brother's dark blue ink:
May you like
"Trust no one in Washington... the real mastermind is still sitting on the Joint Chiefs board."
---
