Wrapped around a dagger.
“Oh God.”
Mercer reached for his radio.
Before he could speak, a distant explosion shook the training yard.
A column of black smoke rose near the detention building.
Sirens screamed across the base.
Soldiers started running.
Mercer shouted into his radio.
“Lock down every gate! Nobody leaves this installation!”Support Veterans
Elena stared at the smoke.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Mercer shook his head.
“Don’t answer.”
Elena answered.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a man spoke.
His voice was low.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Captain Brooks.”
Elena tightened her grip on the phone.
“Who is this?”
The man ignored the question.
“You have your mother’s stubbornness.”Family history research
Elena looked at Mercer.
The general had gone completely pale.
“You knew my mother?”
A quiet laugh.
“Better than Mercer did.”
Mercer grabbed for the phone.
Elena pulled it away.
“What happened to her?”
The voice became softer.
“That depends.”Military leadership courses
“On what?”
“On whether you’re ready to learn why she chose you.”
Elena frowned.
“Chose me for what?”
The line went silent.
Then the man said something that stopped her heart.
“Look inside the photograph.”
Elena slowly turned toward Mercer.
“What does that mean?”
Mercer shook his head.
“I don’t know.”Photo restoration services
Elena grabbed the old photograph of her mother.
She examined the front.
Nothing.
Then she turned it over.
TELL ELENA WHO HER FATHER IS.
Her thumb brushed across the backing.
Something felt wrong.
The photograph was too thick.
Elena carefully pulled at one corner.
The backing separated.
A tiny folded piece of paper fell into her palm.Family history research
Mercer stared at it.
“I never knew that was there.”
Elena unfolded it.
Inside was a short handwritten message.
The handwriting matched the words on the photograph.
Her mother’s handwriting.
Elena read silently.
Then stopped breathing.
Mercer stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Elena read it again.
Her hands began to shake.
The message contained only three lines.
THOMAS IS NOT YOUR FATHER.
DO NOT TRUST THE MEN FROM NIGHTGLASS.
YOUR FATHER IS STILL ALIVE.
Elena slowly lifted her eyes toward Mercer.
Before either of them could speak, the voice on the phone returned.
“Now ask General Mercer why your father has been locked beneath this base for twenty-seven years.”Military leadership courses
The call ended.Military leadership courses