My Boss Forced Me To Approve Defective Armor For Frontline Soldiers—When His Enforcer Grabbed Me In The Base Washhouse, I Put Him On The Floor And Uncovered His Darkest Secret
The rhythmic drip of oil from a derelict truck axle was the only sound in the motor pool shed. I had been in the pit for hours, shivering despite the oppressive humidity, listening to the distant patrols. Just before dawn, a shadow fell over the opening.
My heart leaped into my throat. I braced myself.
“Kincaid?” a voice whispered, cautious and weary. It was Major Donald Callahan.
I pushed the tarp aside, blinking in the pre-dawn gloom. Callahan looked exhausted, his uniform rumpled, a five o’clock shadow darkening his jaw.
“You shouldn’t be here, Major,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Finch has issued a warrant. Treason.”
Callahan sighed, running a hand over his face. “I know. I signed it.” He held up a hand to stop my protest. “Under protest. Finch brought documents. Fabricated, I’m sure, but official-looking enough to clear procedures.”
He sat on a stack of worn tires, the rubber smelling faintly of burnt oil. “Look, Kincaid. This is important. You need to understand what you’re up against.”
“Defective armor. Murdered private,” I stated flatly.
“Worse than that,” Callahan said, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper. “Vanguard Logistics isn’t just another contractor. Their contract with the Department of Defense, specifically the overseas operations clause, contains an immunity rider.”
I frowned, trying to make sense of it. “Immunity for what?”
“For everything that isn’t direct sabotage of US military operations at the highest level,” he explained, his gaze intense. “Finch, as VP of overseas ops, has almost carte blanche. Corruption, negligence, even lower-level fraud… it’s all buried under ‘proprietary operational security’ and ‘national interest exemptions’.”
A sickening realization washed over me. “Washington. They signed off on this?”
Callahan nodded grimly. “Lobbyists in D.C. pushed it through years ago. The brass here, we’re stuck. We can’t touch Vanguard’s property, we can’t seize their assets, we can’t even detain Finch without absolute, irrefutable proof that he’s a direct enemy agent, or committed capital murder himself. Something that explicitly overrides the immunity clause.”
My mind raced. This wasn’t just a local fight. This was a system designed to protect war profiteers at the highest levels. My legal channels, my “reliance on legal channels” as my weakness, were completely useless here.
“So I have to prove he’s working for the Viet Cong, or that he personally shot Ward, for anyone to care?” I asked, the irony bitter in my mouth.
“Essentially,” Callahan admitted, his voice strained. “Finch is untouchable through standard military channels here. If you go to the CID with your evidence, they’ll just declare it an internal corporate matter, protected by the contract. Then they’ll arrest *you* for treason.”
His words hit me like a physical blow. Finch wasn’t just powerful; he was invisible, shielded by politicians thousands of miles away. My carefully gathered proof of fraud and Ward’s murder, in the eyes of the system, was nothing but a civilian engineer trying to interfere with a ‘critical defense contractor.’
“What about Ward?” I asked, desperation creeping into my voice. “His murder?”
“Officially, it’s a closed case,” Callahan said, shaking his head. “Mortar attack. Finch had it buried fast. And without direct proof linking Finch to the gun, or overriding the immunity clause, there’s nothing I can do.”
He stood up, his shoulders slumped. “I have to report your location, Kincaid. Or I face court-martial myself.” His eyes, however, held a flicker of something else. “But I have other duties to attend to first.”
He walked away, leaving me alone in the motor pool shed, the harsh truth of Washington’s shield echoing in the silent, pre-dawn air. I was alone, blacklisted, and powerless against an enemy with limitless protection. But something in Callahan’s last words, his lingering presence, sparked a different idea. If the law wouldn’t work, maybe something else would.
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