Chapter 2: The Secret Hidden Under the Battlefield
The recording ended.
But nobody moved.
It was as if the entire courtroom had forgotten how to breathe.
I stared at the black device sitting on the evidence table.
Three years ago, I watched the world believe Sergeant Michael Miller died.
I watched a flag-covered coffin.
I watched his family cry.
I watched myself sign paperwork confirming his death.
And now his voice had returned from the grave.
Major Brooks recovered first.
“Your Honor, we need to establish the authenticity of this recording.””
Her voice sounded controlled.
But her hands were shaking.
Judge Anderson looked toward the military police officer.
“Secure the device.””
The officer nodded.
Colonel Harris remained near the courtroom doors.
Two guards stood beside him.
He looked older suddenly.
Not like a decorated commander.
Like a man who had just realized his secrets had found him.
I approached the table.
“Play it again.””
Major Brooks immediately turned.
“Absolutely not.””
“Why?””
“Because this is an active investigation.””
I smiled bitterly.
“Funny.””
Everyone looked at me.
“You didn’t seem interested in investigations when you accused me.””
The judge raised his hand.
“Sergeant Carter.””
I stopped.
But my eyes stayed on Harris.
That man had taken my career.
My reputation.
My future.
And now I knew he had taken something worse.
My team.
My brothers.
Judge Anderson looked at the technician.
“Can the recording be analyzed?””
“Yes, Your Honor.””
“How long?””
The technician hesitated.
“Several hours.””
The judge nodded.
“Then we will continue tomorrow.””
A wave of whispers moved through the courtroom.
But before the guards could escort everyone out, Raven walked back to me.
She sat beside my chair.
Like she had done a thousand times before.
I looked down at her collar.
That was when I noticed something strange.
The silver identification plate was scratched.
Not damaged.
Intentional.
I touched it.
“Where did you get this?””
The handler looked uncomfortable.
“Sergeant, I was told not to discuss Raven’s previous deployment.””
“By who?””
He didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I waited until the courtroom cleared.
Only a few people remained.
Major Brooks.
Judge Anderson.
The handler.
And Colonel Harris.
I walked toward Harris.
“Tell me what happened in Afghanistan.””
His jaw tightened.
“I don’t owe you an explanation.””
“No?””
I stepped closer.
“You reported me as a traitor.””
“I reported suspicious activity.””
“You reported me after I questioned your mission orders.””
His expression changed.
A tiny reaction.
But enough.
I saw it.
“What mission orders?””
He looked away.
Major Brooks noticed.
“Colonel?””
Harris remained silent.
The judge stood.
“Colonel Harris, you will answer questions when ordered.””
For the first time, Harris looked powerless.
I remembered Operation Black Falcon.
The mission that destroyed everything.
We had been sent to investigate a suspected weapons transfer.
But when we arrived, the coordinates were wrong.
There were no enemy forces.
No weapons.
Only an abandoned village.
And a hidden underground facility.
Miller had discovered something inside.
Something he refused to tell anyone over the radio.
That night, he pulled me aside.
“Daniel, if anything happens to me, don’t trust the report.””
I had laughed.
“What report?””
He looked serious.
“The official one.””
Now, three years later, those words returned.
I looked at Raven.
She was watching me.
Waiting.
The handler finally spoke.
“Sergeant Carter…”
I turned.
“Yes?””
He swallowed.
“There’s something you should know.””
Everyone became quiet.
“Raven wasn’t declared dead.””
My chest tightened.
“What?””
The handler looked at Colonel Harris.
“She was recovered after the explosion.””
I stared.
“Then why was I told she died?””
Nobody answered.
I already knew.
Because someone wanted her gone.
The handler continued.
“Raven disappeared from military records for three years.””
“Where was she?””
He hesitated.
“Being kept somewhere classified.””
“By who?””
His eyes moved toward Harris.
The colonel looked furious.
“Careful.””
The handler stepped back.
“I’ve said enough.””
I walked closer.
“No. You haven’t.””
I touched Raven’s collar again.
The silver plate.
The words.
Trust no one.
Miller had put that there.
Not as a warning.
As a message.
He knew someone would find her.
He knew someone would need to know.
I turned to the handler.
“What else is on this dog?””
His face went pale.
“What do you mean?””
“Raven was trained by my partner.””
I looked at the collar.
“And Miller never trusted technology he couldn’t control.””
A terrible thought entered my mind.
The collar wasn’t just identification.
It was storage.
A message.
A key.
Something.
Raven suddenly stood.
She walked toward the evidence table.
Everyone watched.
The handler whispered:
“She’s never done that before.””
Raven sniffed the recording device.
Then she looked directly at me.
And dropped something from her mouth.
A small metal capsule.
It landed on the courtroom floor.
Nobody spoke.
I picked it up.
There was a symbol engraved on it.
A symbol I recognized.
The symbol of our old unit.
But underneath it was something else.
A date.
The date of the explosion.
And beneath that date were six words.
“OPEN THIS AFTER HARRIS IS EXPOSED.””
My fingers went numb.
I looked up.
Colonel Harris was staring at the capsule.
Not confused.
Not surprised.
Terrified.
Then Major Brooks received a notification on her phone.
She read it.
Her face changed.
“Your Honor…”
The judge looked at her.
“What is it?””
She slowly lowered the phone.
“Someone just accessed the classified Black Falcon files.””
I looked at Harris.
“Who?””
Major Brooks stared at the screen.
Then she whispered:
“The access code belongs to…”
She stopped.
May you like
Her eyes moved toward me.
“…Sergeant Daniel Carter.””
