That woman had just performed at a level he'd only seen in a handful of operators, people with names that showed up in classified briefings, not on maintenance rosters.
At exactly 1500 hours, Sarah Chen walked into Admiral Hendrickx's office. She'd changed into clean maintenance coveralls, her hair still in its simple ponytail. She looked small, unremarkable, completely out of place in the richly appointed command office. Hendrickx sat behind his desk, flanked by Hayes and Davidson. Park stood near the door, arms crossed.
Rodriguez lurked in the corner, a predator waiting for his moment. "Sit." Hendrickx ordered. She remained standing.
"I prefer to stand, sir." "That wasn't a request." "With respect, Admiral, I'm not active duty military. You can't give me orders." His jaw tightened.
This wasn't how he'd expected this meeting to go. "Fine, stand. But you will explain your background, your qualifications, and why you're working as maintenance when you clearly have specialized training." "I'd prefer not to discuss my previous employment," "And I'd prefer not to have a mystery operative working on my base without full disclosure." He leaned forward.
"Here's what I think. I think you washed out of whatever program you were in. Maybe couldn't handle the pressure. Maybe failed the psych eval. And now you're clinging to whatever skills you managed to retain, trying to feel important by impressing people."
Something flickered across Sarah's face just for an instant, then it was gone. "Or maybe," Hayes added her voice sharp with resentment. "You were never actually in any program. Maybe you're a very good actress who learned how to fake competence. We've seen it before."
"People who study operators learn the lingo, practice the moves, and try to pass themselves off as something they're not." "Stolen valor," Rodriguez said from his corner. "It's a crime. We could have you arrested." Sarah's phone buzzed.
She glanced at a message from someone labeled only as papa. Three words, proud of you. She allowed herself the smallest smile before returning her attention to the officers arrayed against her. "Call security," Davidson suggested.
"Let's get this sorted out officially. Full background investigation, polygraph if necessary." Park pushed off from the wall. "I'll make the call." As he reached for the phone, Chief Warrant Officer Kim burst through the door slightly out of breath.
"Sir, sorry to interrupt, but I have those search results you requested." "This better be good, Kim." Hendrickx growled. "You asked me to run a deep background check on Sarah Chen." Kim held up a tablet, his face pale.
"Sir, I found something. Multiple somethings, but there's a problem." "What problem?" "The file is classified. Like, seriously classified."
"I only got access because General Thornton authorized it when he heard what was going on. Sir, I need O-6 clearance minimum to even open the full record." The room went very, very quiet. Davidson stood.
"I have O-6 clearance. Let me see that tablet." Kim handed it over reluctantly. Davidson's eyes scanned the screen. His face went through a remarkable series of expressions: confusion, shock, disbelief, and finally something that looked like horror.