Chapter 6 - The Old Alpha Recall
One young handler lowered his rifle completely.
“That’s the old alpha recall.”
Another turned toward Sarah with disbelief. “Nobody uses that anymore.”
Sarah pushed Miller’s arm away and rose slowly. Her left hand, missing two fingers, pressed briefly against her ribs before falling back to her side.
Miller stood too.
“That proves nothing,” he snapped. “Anyone could copy a whistle.”
The handler shook his head. “Not the timing.”
A senior officer entered through the command gate at a fast walk. Colonel David Hale, kennel program commander, looked first at the thirteen dogs lying safely across the yard.
Then he saw Sarah.
He stopped.
For the first time all afternoon, genuine shock crossed a senior officer’s face.
“Vance?”
Miller looked between them. “You know her?”
Colonel Hale removed his sunglasses.
“Sarah Vance built the emergency recall protocol used across this installation.”
The young handlers went still.
Hale stepped closer. “She trained the first alpha line before half of you finished basic.”
Miller’s face tightened. “She’s a contractor.”
“She’s here under inspector authority.”
Sarah looked at Hale.
That part had not been meant for public disclosure yet.
But there was no reason to hide anymore.
Hale continued, his voice turning cold.
“She was assigned to observe this facility after unexplained injury reports and irregular training data.”
Every eye shifted toward Miller.
Sarah looked down at the gravel, then toward Rex in the K9 line.
May you like
“The reports weren’t irregular,” she said. “They were altered.”
Miller’s confidence finally cracked.
