Chapter 10 - The Final SaluteLater that evening, after the corporate offices had emptied out and the city lights began to twinkle across the horizon, I walked out onto the private balcony of the executive suite.


The night air was crisp, carrying the cool promise of a new season.
I pulled a small, worn silver coin from my pocket—the insignia of Operation Iron Veil, stamped with the names of the brave men and women who hadn't made it back home.
I pressed the cool metal against my palm, closing my eyes for a brief moment.
Helicopter blades didn't thunder overhead anymore. There was no smoke, no gunfire, and no screaming in the distance. There was only peace. The kind of hard-earned, unbreakable peace that only those who have walked through the fire can truly understand.
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I slipped the coin back into my pocket, raised my right hand to my temple in a quiet, solitary salute to the stars above, and smiled into the dark.
The war was finally over.