Chapter 5: The Enemy Inside the Walls
“Miller!””
I dropped beside him.
Blood spread across his uniform.
For one terrible second, I thought I was watching him die again.
Not again.
Not after getting him back.
“Stay with me,” I said.
His eyes opened slightly.
“Daniel…”
“Don’t talk.””
I pressed my hand against the wound.
“Medical team!””
The courtroom erupted into motion.
Guards searched every corner.
Doors slammed.
People shouted into radios.
But whoever fired the shot was gone.
Gone from a locked courtroom.
Major Brooks looked shaken.
“The shooter had to be inside.””
I looked up.
“Exactly.””
Her expression changed.
Because she understood.
Someone in that room wanted Miller silent.
Someone who knew he was alive.
Someone who knew what he was about to reveal.
My eyes moved toward Colonel Harris.
He was still standing.
Watching.
Calm.
Too calm.
“You knew.””
The words came out before I realized I said them.
Harris looked at me.
“Careful, Daniel.””
“No.””
I stood slowly.
“You knew Miller survived.””
His expression didn’t change.
But his silence said everything.
Major Brooks turned.
“Colonel Harris?””
Harris finally spoke.
“I suspected.””
The room went quiet.
I stared at him.
“You suspected?””
He looked at me.
“After the explosion, there were reports of movement near the site.””
“And you didn’t tell anyone?””
His jaw tightened.
“The situation was classified.””
I laughed.
A bitter, angry laugh.
“Everything is classified when you’re hiding something.””
The guards moved closer to Harris.
Judge Anderson looked furious.
“Colonel Harris, until we understand what happened here, you are restricted from leaving this facility.””
For the first time, Harris looked nervous.
“Your Honor—”
“That is not a request.””
Harris sat.
But his eyes stayed on me.
Not angry.
Calculating.
I knew that look.
A commander planning his next move.
The medical team rushed Miller out.
Before they carried him away, he grabbed my wrist.
His grip was weak.
But his eyes were sharp.
“Daniel.””
I leaned closer.
“What?””
“Raven.””
I looked at the dog.
“She knows.””
“Knows what?””
Miller struggled to breathe.
“The location.””
“What location?””
His eyes closed.
“The original report.””
Then he was gone.
I followed them out.
The hallway felt colder than before.
Raven walked beside me.
Quiet.
Focused.
Like she was waiting for something.
The handler caught up.
“Sergeant Carter.””
I stopped.
“What?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“I need to tell you something about Raven.””
I waited.
“She wasn’t just assigned to your unit.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“She was assigned to Sergeant Miller.””
“That makes no sense.””
The handler shook his head.
“Before the explosion, Miller requested a special modification to her training.””
“What kind of modification?””
The handler glanced around.
Then lowered his voice.
“Tracking.””
I stared.
“She tracks people.””
“No.””
He looked at Raven.
“She tracks truth.””
I almost laughed.
But then I remembered everything.
The collar.
The recorder.
The capsule.
The way she reacted to Harris.
The way she found evidence nobody else knew existed.
“What else did Miller teach her?””
The handler hesitated.
Then pulled out a small file.
“I wasn’t supposed to show you this.””
I opened it.
Inside were training notes.
Most were ordinary.
Until I reached the final page.
There was a handwritten message.
Miller’s handwriting.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew those letters.
The message said:
“Raven will only reveal the truth to Daniel Carter.””
I looked up.
“Why?””
The handler shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
I stared at the words.
Then something fell from the file.
A small photograph.
I picked it up.
It showed Miller and me standing beside Raven.
But written on the back was a date.
Not from Afghanistan.
A date from six months after the explosion.
My blood ran cold.
Because that meant Miller had been alive.
And he had been watching me.
I turned the photo over again.
There was one final message.
“Daniel, if you’re reading this, I failed to reach you.””
My fingers tightened.
Then I read the next line.
“Do not trust the person who saved you.””
I froze.
Because underneath the message was a name.
A name I never expected.
The person who had supposedly helped me survive the explosion.
The person I had trusted for three years.
May you like
The person who brought me home.
Captain Emily Shaw.
