“He didn’t just authorize the shipments,” I said, staring at the screen. “He owned the dummy corporation that bought them.”

“And Dad was just his broker,” Madison added softly.

“Your father was a fool,” a voice said from the doorway.

I spun around, my hand instinctively reaching for my empty holster.

Colonel Hayes stood in the doorway, wearing his service dress uniform, a silenced pistol raised in his right hand.

His medals glinted under the dim blue light of the servers.

“Colonel,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “I heard you were dead.”

“A convenient rumor for the MPs,” Hayes said, taking a step into the room. “By morning, you would have been the rogue officer who killed her commanding officer to cover up her family’s crimes.”

“The MPs are already outside,” I said. “They won’t let you walk away.”

“The MPs are under my command, Captain,” Hayes smiled, a cold, empty expression. “They do what I tell them to do.”

“Not all of them,” Madison said.

She reached behind the terminal and flipped a toggle switch.

The wall monitors flickered, showing the feeds from the external security cameras.