Chapter 20 - The Unmarked Envelope Arrives At The Pentagon
Six months later, a warm summer breeze blew across the courtyard of the Pentagon as I walked toward my staff car.
My life had returned to its natural rhythm of high-level intelligence briefings, legislative hearings, and strategic oversight.
I was free, independent, and respected by the highest levels of the United States defense establishment.
As I opened the door to my sedan, my driver handed me a thick, yellow envelope that had arrived via priority military courier.
There was no return address, no official government tracking code, and no digital bar code printed on the paper.
Only my full name written in neat, elegant blue ink across the front: Inspector General Mara Vance.
I slid into the back seat of the car, tearing open the top seal of the envelope with my brass letter opener.
Inside was a single printed photograph and a short, handwritten note on heavy cardstock paper.
The photograph showed a remote airfield somewhere in Northern Europe, where an unmarked tactical transport plane was sitting on the tarmac.
Standing near the stairs of the aircraft was a tall man in civilian clothes, his face partially obscured by the shadow of his cap.
On his wrist was a rare, custom tactical watch identical to the one given to me by the Joint Chiefs after my overseas recovery tour.
I turned the cardstock note over, reading the two short lines written on the back in precise block letters:
“The Hawthorne file was only the surface, Mara.”
“If you want to know who was really buying those stolen quartermaster supplies from Evelyn, look at the roster for Table One.”
My heart took a sharp, sudden leap in my chest as I replayed the memory of the military ball in my mind.
Table One—the head table where Undersecretary Miller and the highest civilian leaders of the defense department had been sitting.
The driver started the engine, pulling out of the Pentagon parking lot onto the highway leading toward the city.
I held the photograph up to the light, staring at the shadowed face of the man standing near the transport plane.
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The investigation wasn't over.
It was just beginning.
