Chapter 6 - The Shot That Entered the Log
The rifle’s recoil slammed against Morgan’s shoulder.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
The bullet was still flying.
FDC recorded her breathing, the target coordinates, the calculations, and the silence between them.
Then the camouflage tarp shifted.
A flash tore through the lower staging area as the round struck the launcher’s exposed support assembly and ignited the fuel beside it. The weapon collapsed before it could be fired. Enemy fighters scattered away from the vehicle.
The FDC operator’s voice burst through the radio.
“Impact confirmed.”
Morgan closed her eyes for one second.
“Convoy status?”
“Copper is being held outside the choke point. Forty personnel accounted for.”
Alive.
The word entered Morgan’s mind before exhaustion did.
Then a familiar voice broke into the backup channel.
“Morgan?”
Miller.
Weak, but alive.
“I’m here.”
“I heard the shot.”
“So did the valley.”
Miller’s reply was buried beneath static.
The rescue team reached her position twenty-three minutes later. Miller arrived with them, his uniform torn and one side of his face covered in dust. When he saw Morgan lying beside the rifle, he dropped to one knee.
“You look terrible,” he said.
“So do you.”
He looked toward the destroyed launcher below.
“Did you really make that distance?”
“FDC has the log.”
Miller nodded slowly.
That answer mattered more than celebration.
Because Sterling could tear paper.
He could alter reports.
May you like
He could declare living soldiers dead.
But he could not erase a master recording stored forty kilometers away.
