“You’re done, Michael,” I said.

He looked at the open laptop, then back at me, a desperate look entering his eyes.

“She forced me to do it,” he stammered, stepping toward the computer. “She said if I didn’t take the money, she would cut me off too.”

“You took the money to buy your way out of your debts,” I said. “You knew exactly what she was doing to me.”

He reached suddenly for the laptop, attempting to slam it shut.

I stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, twisting it back just enough to force him away from the desk.

He groaned, his boots slipping on the scattered papers.

“Don’t,” I whispered in his ear. “The command inquiry is already initiated.”

Behind me, the door opened wider, and Captain Hayes stepped into the room, holding his phone.

“The military police are in the lobby, Colonel,” Hayes said.

Michael looked from me to Hayes, realizing he was trapped.

On the desk, the laptop screen blinked, showing a file transfer progress bar that had just reached ninety-nine percent.

A red warning box flashed on the screen: *Transfer Interrupted by Network Administrator.*