Chapter 8 - The Second Recording
Loasing approached the blinking device with extreme caution, her boots clicking softly against the polished linoleum. She knelt down, inspecting the casing for any secondary wiring or trip mechanisms. Finding none, she pressed the playback button. The tiny speaker crackled with static before a familiar, calm voice filled the empty hallway.
“You run fast, Captain, but you cannot outrun a paper trail,” the voice said. It was not the distorted, synthesized speech from the banquet hall, nor was it Julian Vance’s panicked whine. This voice belonged to Colonel Henderson—Loasing’s direct superior at the upcoming promotion board.
The audio recording continued, capturing a private conversation between Henderson and an unidentified corporate lobbyist.
“If she clears the vetting process, our procurement bids for the automated drone fleet will be audited,” Henderson’s recorded voice stated clearly. “We need her disgraced, court-martialed, and dishonorably discharged before Friday noon. Plant the data breach on her vehicle, make sure the media gets the voice clip from the banquet, and let the military bureaucracy finish the execution.”
The General stepped up behind Loasing, his face darkening into a mask of pure fury as he listened to the treasonous dialogue echoing off the sterile white walls.
“Henderson,” the General growled, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. “That son of a bitch sits on the executive oversight committee. He is the one who recommended you for the promotion in the first place.”
“It was a calculated chess move,” Loasing said softly, rising to her feet while clutching the flash drive and the new voice recorder in her hands. “He brought me close so he could control the narrative when the procurement audit started. When I refused to sign off on the faulty drone software last month, he decided to eliminate the obstacle.”
“We take this directly to the Chief of Staff tonight,” the General insisted, turning toward the secure elevator. “We bypass the normal chain of command entirely.”
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“We can't,” Loasing replied, stopping him with a firm hand on his arm. “Look at the ceiling camera above us. It’s been looping the same ten-second feed since we walked out of the stairwell. The entire annex is compromised.”
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