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“Direct threats against a superior officer? I thought you were smarter than this, Briggs.”

“Smart enough,” Jason smirked into the camera. It was a terrifying smirk. One that made me uneasy, and I was on his side.

“I see a court-martial in your future, son,” growled the Colonel. “Hope this little call was worth it.”

“That all depends on you,” Kyle spoke up.

“And what you do next,” added Dakota.

Goddard made a sour face and reached out with one arm. “I’m terminating the connection,” he spat. “Expect to hear from—”

“Might not want to do that just yet,” said Jason. “At least not until you’ve checked your email.”

“My email??

?? he laughed. “I have people for that. I don’t—”

“The one on your private server.”

Goddard’s lips pursed together. His expression froze.

“Go on,” said Jason. “We’ll wait.”

For a few seconds the Colonel did nothing. Then I saw his arm move. He glanced sideways, into another screen, and the spectral glow of his own laptop illuminated the skin of his stubbled jaw.

A recording began playing, somewhere off-screen. I could hear voices. Even laughter. Two men speaking casually, talking back and forth.

Colonel Goddard’s body language changed again, and this time it was drastic. He seemed to shrink on the screen before us. His back arched, his head shifted forward. Hunched over, with a worried look in his eye, he suddenly looked very old…

And very scared.

When he spoke again, his voice was low and gravelly. Like he’d just woken up from a long, restless sleep. “H—How did you get this?”

“I gave it to them.”

Markus Ladrone shifted forward at the crowded kitchen table, pushing his way between Kyle and Ryan. He got so close, his face took up most of the camera. And he was smiling from ear to ear.

“Ladrone?”

“Oh yeah,” said Markus. “It’s me Colonel.”

“You disgusting piece of—”

“Easy now,” smiled Markus. “You might want to be careful, especially when talking to someone who has your balls in his hand. You never know when he might squeeze…”

The man on the other side of the screen had been scowling, but that faded too.

“Remember when you said that to me?” Markus went on. “When I tried to quit, when I tried to tell you everything we were doing was all wrong? I believe those were the words you used, weren’t they?”

Goddard swallowed hard, but I was pretty sure his Adam’s apple never moved up and down. His color was gone now, too. He looked white as a ghost.

“What is it that you want?”

“Ah, now see?” Markus grinned. “That’s better. I knew we’d all be friends.”

“Markus—”

“For starters, you’ll pull back the rest of the moles you’ve embedded in the company. I found two of them right off the bat last week, but I know you’ve got more.”