I started to salute slowly.
He slowly returned the salute.
“Captain Mercer,” he said.
I automatically responded with the word “Sir.”
As the General lowered his hand, I could see that he did not have the flag with him to give to me.
Instead, I heard the General yell at me from across the graveyard.
“I do not present a hero’s flag to a grieving wife,” yelled the General. “I am here to present a classified report to you.”
I stopped crying, Scarlett stopped crying, and the entire graveyard fell silent.
General Bradley then turned to look at everyone with his eyes open wide enough for each of them to see his face.
“Garrett Cole was not a hero. He was not defending his brothers in arms. He was in the middle of a hostile compound and an illegal deal fell apart.”
My heart sank.
“He was a traitor trying to sell classified military intelligence,” said the General. “That is the real-time location of Captain Mercer and his unit.”
I felt the world tilt away from me.
Not only had Garrett abandoned us, he had also attempted to sell out my unit.
He had also attempted to leave the children with no mother.
A scream pierced the air.
“No!” Beatrice shouted. “That is a lie! Garrett is a patriot!”
A cold look came over General Bradley’s face when he looked back at Beatrice.
“Mrs. Cole, the United States Military does not support traitors.”Further, individuals who come forward regarding a specific incident do not aid anyone involved in it.
He pulled out a sizable collection of waterproof documents from his jacket.
Also, our understanding is that some of the funds associated with this treasonous act were sent through domestic shell companies owned by his father and his girlfriend.
The FBI and Military Police literally showed up within seconds.
Arthur attempted to reason with the FBI agents while Beatrice yelled out my name and blamed me for ruining their lives.
Scarlett remained motionless, as her real tears replaced the tears she used to fake.
I moved my children by me, shielding them from the sight. These individuals had previously rejected them; I couldn’t allow my children to observe their family’s collapse from so close.
The Honor Guard removed the flag from Garrett’s casket; there were no ceremonial processes, such as the slow folding or the saluting of Garrett.
Garrett’s casket was left as is, no flag.
General Bradley approached me from behind.
“I reviewed the logs of each connection to the servers, Captain,” he stated, almost in a whisper. “Last week, there were three separate instances when hostile forces attempted to disrupt your unit’s tracking ability. They succeeded only because of the second level of security, which is the result of your work.”
He tapped on the file I held.
“You saved the lives of your fellow teammates; you are the only hero in this cemetery at this time.”
For the last seven years, i have carried the burden of being abandoned, judged, exhausted, and doubted. There was a slight release inside me at that moment.I did not just live through the Cole family.
I will have the upper hand.
“I appreciate you, Sir,” I spoke quietly.
“Bring your kids home,” he gave me a command.
As I walked from the empty coffin toward the noise, I didn’t look back.
After my kids were asleep that night, I went to HQ and looked at an encrypted flash drive given to me by General Bradley, which had been taken from Garrett’s possessions.
It had financial information, names, transactions, and proof of the activities in the Cole family.
At the bottom of one file were the deleted sound files.
The title of one file chilled me to my core.
ALEX_FINAL.wav.
Three years later and the sun was shining down on West Point.
I was on the parade field and now held the rank of Major and was watching my kids running around the grass.
Connor was throwing a football to Logan, who was laughing while he caught it. Maya was sitting off to the side and arranging her toy soldiers. She was wearing my old military cap backward.
I knew my kids were safe.
My kids were happy.
My kids were free.
General Bradley came walking up beside me in civilian clothes.
He told me, “Major, you have created an amazing thing. Your firewall protocols have all been adopted by the active-duty units. You took betrayal and turned it into protection.”
I kept my eyes on my children.
“I had a good reason to learn how to build walls,” I responded to General Bradley.
The Cole family was finished. Beatrice and Arthur had been convicted. Scarlett took a deal and killed herself in the process. Their money, status, and polished lies were all gone.
They tried to bury me in their darkness.
They never understood that I controlled the light.
I felt my secure phone vibrate in my pocket.
I opened the encrypted message.
“The last contact of Garrett’s organization was arrested in Dubai. The organization has been shut down. Your family is safe for good, Major. Sleep soundly.”
I shut off the phone and grabbed Maya’s hand.
For the first time, in 10 years, I was able to breathe without fear.
