Chapter 5 - The Mission Was Never Supposed to Carry That Truck
Cassidy eventually obtained a copy of the original movement sheet from another injured soldier.
One line did not match the final report.
The civilian contractor vehicle.
The official post-incident report listed:
communications support equipment.
The original movement sheet described:
prototype spectrum-monitoring hardware, contractor controlled.
Different cargo.
Different sensitivity.
Different approval requirements.
Cassidy remembered that truck.
Everett had been unusually protective of it.
Before departure he told her:
“No inspection delays. That vehicle moves with you.”
Cassidy objected.
“My team doesn’t escort unverified cargo.”
Everett responded:
“It’s verified above your level.”
She asked by whom.
He never answered.
Hours later, two soldiers were dead.
Now their names had disappeared from the mission.
Cassidy began wondering whether the roster had been altered not to erase the soldiers—
May you like
but to erase what they had been ordered to protect.
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