Chapter 6
The sterile white halls of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center offered a stark contrast to the terror of the suburban house.
Sunlight poured through the high reinforced windows of the private recovery suite on the fourth floor.
Clara slept peacefully under a heated medical quilt, her vital signs stable on the monitors beside her bed.
General Thomas Vance sat in a leather armchair by the window, his olive green uniform jacket draped over the back.
He was examining a decrypted flash drive recovered from Mark's basement office during the raid.
A soft knock echoed at the door, and Federal Prosecutor Sarah Jenkins stepped into the suite holding a thick brown file.
"General Vance, good morning," Sarah greeted respectfully, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Clara.
"The preliminary forensic audit of Mark's offshore accounts yielded some very interesting results."
Thomas stood up quietly, gesturing for Sarah to join him near the window overlooking the courtyard.
"Tell me what you found," Thomas requested, his voice steady and controlled.
"Mark wasn't just paying off local gambling debts with harvested organs," Sarah revealed, opening the brown file.
"The syndicate behind this operation has ties to a corrupted pharmaceutical corporation based in Bethesda."
"They were using military-grade immunosuppressants stolen from federal stockpiles to prevent organ rejection."
Thomas's jaw tightened as the pieces of the grand conspiracy snapped into sharp, dangerous focus.
"Federal supply theft," Thomas muttered darkly. "That explains how they managed to perform these surgeries without hospital alerts."
"Exactly," Sarah nodded, handing him a printed warrant request.
"We have enough probable cause to raid the Bethesda corporate headquarters within the hour."
May you like
Thomas looked down at the warrant, signing his name at the bottom with a decisive, heavy stroke.
"Execute the raid," Thomas commanded quietly. "And leave no stone unturned."
