Chapter 3 - The Broken Lanyard
Brandon laughed—a short, defensive bark meant to show the watching sailors that he was entirely in control of the situation. He tightened his grip on her arm, his fingers digging harder into the dark fabric of her trench coat as he turned slightly to address the audience gathering around them.
“Take my hand off you?” Brandon mocked, pointing his free hand toward her dark coat and the peek of black dress shoes beneath it. “You really expect anyone to believe this? Walking onto a secure pier during a flag event acting like you own the place?”
Cassie did not raise her voice. She did not look at the watching sailors, nor did she make any sudden movement to break his grip, though her posture remained perfectly balanced, rooted firmly on the wet pier.
“Release me,” she said again, her tone flatter this time, colder than the Pacific wind blowing off the bay.
Instead of listening, Brandon’s eyes dropped to her chest, catching the corner of a plastic casing hanging from a black lanyard tucked beneath the lapel of her trench coat—the covered ID badge that had granted her unrestricted access through the outer base gates.
“What’s this?” Brandon sneered. “Hiding your ID?”
Before Cassie could react, Brandon reached out with his free hand, grabbed the lanyard, and violently yanked it free. The safety break on the cord snapped with a sharp, plastic click, pulling the black badge holder out from beneath her coat and exposing the heavy, gold-embossed security card inside.
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Cassie immediately went completely still.
Her arms relaxed at her sides. Her chest rose and fell in a single, perfectly controlled breath. The absolute stillness that came over her was not one of defeat, but the terrifying quiet of a weapon being armed.
