Reyes turned to the two marshals standing behind him.

“Disarm him,” Reyes ordered.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Vance hissed.

“Step back, Captain,” one of the marshals said, moving in close. “Hand over your sidearm.”

Vance looked at Walter, searching for some kind of help, but Walter was staring at the snow, his face pale and hollow.

Realizing he had no cards left to play, Vance slowly unbuckled his holster and handed his weapon to the marshal.

“This is a mistake,” Vance muttered, his arrogance slipping away. “I was acting under the belief that Jake was AWOL.”

“You were acting as a paid clean-up man for Walter Vance,” Major Hayes said, her voice sharp. “We have the bank transfers to prove it.”

She looked at Reyes. “The military command is already drafting the charges for his court-martial.”

“Good,” Reyes said. “We’ll take custody of him now.”

The marshals immediately guided Vance toward one of the waiting SUVs, his hands secured behind his back.

I stood up slowly, Jake helping me to my feet.

My hands were shaking, partly from the freezing wind and partly from the sudden shift in the air.