Chapter 2 - The Report Nobody Wanted
Three hours before the attack, Mara had warned him.
The morning briefing took place around the same table now covered in broken glass.
Benton discussed fuel deliveries, patrol rotations, and vehicle maintenance while officers tried to stay awake over burnt coffee.
Mara waited until the final agenda item.
“Enemy radio traffic increased forty-two percent over the last twelve days,” she said. “The transmissions are short, coordinated, and concentrated near three elevated positions surrounding the eastern route.”
Benton glanced at the clock.
“Meaning?”
“They’re measuring response times.”
One officer looked up.
Benton did not.
“The groups outside this base are disorganized.”
“They do not need formal structure to observe habits.”
“We have heard this before.”
“This pattern is different.”
Mara displayed a map showing repeated movements near ridgelines overlooking the base.
She marked three suspected observation points and an unusual vehicle route through the eastern valley.
Her conclusion was direct.
A coordinated attack was likely within seventy-two hours.
Benton leaned back.
“You’re an intelligence analyst, Captain. Analyze. Let the operators decide what constitutes an attack.”
Several officers lowered their eyes.
Only Lieutenant Aiden Rowe kept looking at the map.
After the meeting, he caught Mara outside the command room.
“You think it’s today?”
“I think someone has already selected firing positions.”
Rowe glanced toward the desert.
“You still keep the rifle close?”
Mara looked at him.
“I write reports now.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
Aiden had been one of the few people on the base who knew her earlier record was classified.
He had read enough fragments to understand that Captain Mara Kincaid had not begun her career behind a secure tablet.
“Keep it close,” he said.
May you like
Mara placed the rifle case beneath the operations table before lunch.
Thirty minutes later, the window exploded.
