Michael stepped forward, his boots scraping against the linoleum floor.

He bent over the desk, squinting at the red blinking icon.

I stood by the door, my arms crossed, watching the color drain from my brother’s face.

“What is this?” Michael whispered. “An IG investigation? For what?”

Drummond tapped the screen, opening a nested directory of PDF files.

“Your promotion to Commander was expedited last year,” Drummond said.

“I was told it was due to my deployment log in the Persian Gulf,” Michael said.

His voice lacked conviction.

“It wasn’t,” Drummond replied.

He pointed to a document signed by a former undersecretary of the Navy.

“This is a waiver,” I said, speaking for the first time. “A fast-track override.”

Michael stared at my name on the adjacent screen.

Under my name, a long list of redacted combat reports from Fallujah and Helmand was displayed.

Beside them were matching dates where my commendations had been officially declined due to ‘administrative irregularities.’

“Your mother had connections in the Senate liaison office,” Drummond said.