“Is he going to fight this?” Jake asked.

“He tried to,” Hayes said, opening a heavy oak door. “But once we showed him the wire transfers from Walter’s shell company, his lawyer advised him to cooperate.”

We entered the small courtroom.

A panel of high-ranking officers sat at a long table at the front of the room.

Captain Vance sat at the defense table, his head bowed.

He looked small without his authority, his shoulders slumped forward.

His uniform looked too big for him now.

We took our seats in the front row of the gallery.

The presiding colonel knocked his gavel, and the room fell silent.

“Captain Thomas Vance,” the colonel’s voice boomed through the quiet room. “You are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, falsifying official military records, and accepting bribes while on active duty.”

Vance did not look up.

“How do you plead?” the colonel asked.

Vance’s defense attorney stood up.

“My client wishes to enter a plea of guilty to all charges, sir,” the attorney said.

A quiet murmur ran through the small crowd in the gallery.

I looked at Jake.