Chapter 10 - Permission.
.The word permission became the most repeated word in the courthouse before the morning was over.
Reporters used it in headlines.
Commentators mocked it on television.
Margaret's new attorney argued that Ava's refusal to explain October 14 proved the defense was hiding behind secrecy.
Daniel requested one final sealed verification from Navy command.
The judge granted the request and set a deadline of four o'clock.
If no authorized witness appeared, she would instruct the jury to consider only the admissible evidence already before them.
At three forty-five, Daniel leaned close to Ava.
His confident expression had been replaced by open anxiety.
"What are you waiting for?"
Ava stared at the wall clock.
"Permission."
"And if it doesn't come?"
"Then we accept the verdict."
Daniel shook his head in disbelief.
"You could lose your reputation, your inheritance rights, and possibly your commission if this spreads far enough."
Ava's reply was quiet.
"I will not expose people who trusted me just to save myself."
At three fifty-eight, the judge returned to the bench.
The gallery filled with whispers.
Margaret sat perfectly upright in her cream blazer, the pearl necklace at her throat moving with each shallow breath.
The judge looked toward Captain Benton.
"Has command authorization been received?"
Benton checked her phone.
"No, Your Honor."
Margaret smiled.
The judge reached for her notes.
Then a sound rolled through the courtroom.
The heavy double wooden doors opened.
Every head turned.
An older man in Service Dress Blue entered with two aides behind him.
Rows of ribbons crossed his chest.
Silver hair framed a face that seemed carved from restraint.
Captain Benton immediately stood.
Ava rose at the same instant.
She turned away from the gallery, came to attention, and rendered a formal salute.
The newly appointed commander stopped three steps inside the room.
He returned the salute.
"Lieutenant Commander Monroe."
"Admiral Mercer."
Margaret gasped.
Her eyes widened with something beyond surprise.
She knew him.
Vice Admiral Thomas Mercer approached the bench and handed the clerk a sealed authorization packet.
"Your Honor, I apologize for the delay."
The judge reviewed the cover page.
"You are the newly appointed commander authorized to verify Lieutenant Commander Monroe's record?"
"I am."
"Are you prepared to testify?"
Mercer looked at Ava.
"I am prepared to correct a lie that should never have reached this courtroom."
Margaret's attorney objected to the phrasing.
The judge instructed Mercer to limit himself to facts.
He took the oath.
Daniel asked the first question.
"Admiral Mercer, did Lieutenant Commander Ava Monroe serve in the United States Navy during the periods disputed in this case?"
"Yes."
"Was her service continuous?"
"Yes."
"Did she serve overseas?"
"Yes."
"Did she participate in Operation Lantern?"
Mercer paused.
"Yes."
Daniel placed the medal case on the table.
"Are these decorations authentic?"
Mercer looked at the center medal.
His expression changed.
"Every one of them."
Margaret's lips parted.
Daniel asked the question the whole courtroom had been waiting for.
"What happened on October 14?"
Mercer turned toward Ava's scar.
"Lieutenant Commander Monroe was part of a team that prevented compromised evacuation data from being sold to a hostile intermediary."
He did not describe violence.
He did not need to.
"She was injured during the operation, underwent emergency surgery after extraction, and returned to duty after recovery."
Margaret's face collapsed.
Mercer continued.
"The center decoration was awarded for conduct during that operation."
Daniel looked toward Margaret.
"And Victor Saye?"
Mercer's answer changed everything again.
"Victor Saye was not the target."
May you like
He paused.
"He was the informant."
