“What is this doing here?” she asked.
Carter walked forward quickly.
“That’s classified training equipment.”
Chief Ramirez blocked his path.
“Then why is it in a high school storage closet?”
Carter’s mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
“I don’t know.”
My mother set the case on a table.
“Do not touch it.”
Master Sergeant Vale examined the tag without opening the case.
Her expression darkened.
“Commander.”
“What?”
Vale pointed to a small broken seal near the latch.
My mother’s face went still.
The kind of still that made my stomach twist.
“What is it?” I asked.
She did not answer me.
Instead, she turned to Carter.
“Where is the second case?”
He went pale.
“What?”
“The equipment travels in pairs. Where is the second case?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Titan growled again.
This time, he was not looking at the storage room.
He was looking at the Navy booth.
More specifically, at Lieutenant Carter’s glossy display table.
The poster behind it still read:
COURAGE STARTS HERE.
My mother followed Titan’s gaze.
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