Chapter 2: The Silent Storm
By 6:00 PM, the video of Alice being doused on the parade ground had gone viral within the military network, and it was quickly leaking to the public internet. Captain Vance sat in his warm office, pouring himself a glass of whiskey, thoroughly enjoying his absolute power. He had already drafted the paperwork to dishonorably discharge Alice.
Suddenly, the lights in his office flickered.
Then, the entire base plunged into total darkness.
Before Vance could yell for his subordinates, the emergency red backup lights kicked in, casting a blood-red glow across the room. At the same moment, the base's sirens began to wail—not the alarm for an enemy attack, but the rare, terrifying tone for a "Total Internal Takeover."
Vance rushed to the window. Outside, the gates of the base were being smashed open.
Three black, unmarked armored SUVs tore across the wet parade ground, followed by two military police transport trucks. Heavily armed operators in midnight-black tactical gear, bearing insignias Vance had never seen in his twenty years of service, flooded the courtyard. They weren't regular army. They were the Internal Affairs Ghost Division—the elite unit that investigated high-level military corruption and treason.
The door to Vance's office was kicked off its hinges with a deafening crash.
"Hands where I can see them, Captain Vance!" a commander shouted, aiming a rifle directly at his chest.
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Vance raised his hands, shaking. "What is the meaning of this?! I am the commanding officer of this sector!"
"Not anymore," a calm, chillingly familiar voice echoed from the hallway.
