CHAPTER 2 — THE SECRET NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO KNOW
The recruits stared in confusion.
Some thought the coin had to be fake.
Others believed it belonged to her father.
Hammer knew better.
Only seven of those coins had ever been issued.
Receiving one meant its owner answered directly to a confidential oversight office empowered to inspect elite military institutions.
No announcement.
No warning.
No advance notice.
The inspections were designed to expose abuse exactly as it happened.
Hammer's pulse raced.
"Where did you get that?" he demanded.
The young cadet slowly stood.
"I was instructed not to reveal my assignment unless circumstances required it."
"You expect me to believe that?"
She calmly removed a sealed envelope from her pocket.
Still unopened.
Still bearing an official wax seal.
She handed it to the academy commander, who had just arrived after hearing the shouting.
The commander broke the seal.
His expression changed instantly.
Without hesitation...
He saluted the young recruit.
Every officer nearby froze.
Hammer stared in disbelief.
"What is this?" he shouted.
The commander looked directly at him.
"Colonel Viktor Volkov..."
"...this cadet has been temporarily assigned by Special Oversight to evaluate leadership conduct during recruit integration."
Silence.
Every instructor on the field suddenly remembered every humiliation...
Every unnecessary punishment...
Every public insult they had witnessed over the years.
Hammer laughed nervously.
"This has to be some mistake."
The cadet finally spoke again.
"There is no mistake."
Then she removed something even more shocking.
A small digital recorder.
Its indicator light blinked red.
Everything...
The forced kneeling.
The shove.
The humiliation.
The laughter.
Every second had been recorded.
Hammer suddenly realized...
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The inspection had started long before he noticed her.
And he had just provided all the evidence anyone would ever need.
