Chapter 2 - The Question Mark
Avery arrived at Coronado six days earlier.
She carried one duffel bag, a sealed orders packet, and no visible need to impress anyone.
That immediately made people suspicious.
She was a Navy lieutenant, but not a SEAL.
Her service record listed intelligence support, maritime security, and advanced training development. The details beneath those headings were restricted.
To many of the operators at the compound, she looked like another officer sent to observe men doing work she had never performed.
Brody said it aloud first.
“Another evaluator with clean boots.”
Ethan laughed.
Avery heard them.
She kept walking.
During the first session, she watched silently while instructors ran close-contact drills. She took notes whenever larger fighters relied on force instead of position.
Brody noticed.
“You grading us?”
“I’m observing.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
That answer irritated him.
Avery did not challenge his record or mention his mistakes in front of others. She simply continued writing.
By the third day, rumors spread.
She had been sent by headquarters.
She was testing a new diversity program.
She was someone’s political appointment.
Every theory assumed she had received access she had not earned.
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Only Reardon knew the full reason she was there.
And he had been ordered not to explain it until the final evaluation ended.
