Mercer removed a sealed brown envelope.
Unlike the photograph, the envelope looked newer.
Stamped across the front in red letters was a single word.Life insurance
CLASSIFIED.
Below it was another line.
PROJECT NIGHTGLASS.
Elena felt Ryan’s attention shift toward the envelope.
Mercer noticed.
“So that’s why you’re still here, Staff Sergeant.”
Ryan blinked.
“Sir?”
Mercer stepped toward him.
“Who ordered you to provoke Captain Brooks today?”Family history research
Ryan’s expression hardened.
“Nobody.”
Mercer stared at him.
“Try again.”
“It was just training.”
“You publicly challenged a commissioned officer, insulted her, created an unauthorized fighting circle, and made sure at least six soldiers were recording.”
Ryan’s jaw flexed.
“It got out of hand.”
“No.”Photo restoration services
Mercer’s voice became cold.
“It went exactly the way someone wanted.”
Elena turned toward Ryan.
“What is he talking about?”
Ryan shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Mercer raised the envelope.
“This arrived in my office forty-eight hours ago.”
He handed it to Elena.
She hesitated before taking it.Accident prevention services
There was no return address.
Only Mercer’s name and military identification number.
Inside were several photographs.
Elena pulled out the first.
Her breath caught.
It showed her entering the base three weeks earlier.
The second showed her leaving the gym.
The third showed her buying coffee outside the south gate.
The fourth showed her standing beside her car.
All taken from a distance.Support Veterans
Someone had been following her.
Ryan looked over her shoulder.
“What the hell?”
Elena turned sharply.
“You recognize something?”
“No.”
“You reacted.”
“Because someone’s been stalking you.”
Mercer pointed to the final photograph.
“Look closer.”Military history books
Elena did.
The photograph showed her walking across the parking lot.
Behind her, almost hidden beside a black SUV, stood a man.
His face was blurred.
But his wrist was visible.
A distinctive tattoo wrapped around it.
A black snake surrounding a dagger.
Ryan suddenly stepped backward.
Elena saw it.
“You know that tattoo.”Photo restoration services
“No.”
“You do.”
Ryan shook his head.
“I said no.”
Mercer stepped between them.
“Staff Sergeant, roll up your left sleeve.”
Ryan stared at him.
“Sir?”
“Your sleeve.”
Ryan didn’t move.
Mercer’s expression hardened.
“That was not a suggestion.”
Slowly, Ryan pulled his sleeve upward.
There was no tattoo.
Elena released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Then Mercer said, “The other arm.”