Inside a room in the Safe Zone...
"Major Taylor, how did Uncle Reyes die?" Mia stood over Colonel Reyes's body, her face carved from ice.
"He was ambushed," Zach Taylor said grimly.
Then he laid out the whole story for her—how it happened, who was there, what little they knew.
"I think Mayor Marks was behind it," Zach finished, fists clenched tight. "But the three attackers took poison and killed themselves. Dead men don't talk."
"What about the soldiers who rescued them? The ones who brought them straight to Colonel Reyes—have they been questioned?"
"They're from 2nd Battalion. Solid guys. They didn't suspect anything—hell, we pull in survivors every day. No way to vet every single one that thoroughly."
