Chapter 9 - The Counter-Attack
The next morning, the front pages of every major national newspaper carried the same bold headline.
CORRUPTION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL: HOW A DISABLED VETERAN EXPOSED A SENATOR'S LAND GRAB SCHEME.
Photos of me sitting in my wheelchair outside Courtroom 4B were printed beside pictures of Senator Sterling looking panicked.
The Department of Justice could no longer ignore the overwhelming public outcry and national media pressure.
Before noon, the Attorney General officially announced the appointment of an independent special prosecutor.
The mandate was clear: investigate all land acquisitions tied to Blackwood Capital and Senator Thomas Sterling without exception.
At our farm in Pine Creek, the phone on our makeshift command desk rang continuously with calls of support.
Governors from two neighboring states called General Reed directly to offer state police protection for our witnesses.
Even so, we knew that powerful men do not surrender their empires without launching a desperate retaliation.
"Senator Sterling has called an emergency closed-door session of the Senate Armed Services Committee," Captain Vance reported, walking up to my desk.
"He is trying to push through an emergency rider that would freeze military pensions for all retired officers under active federal investigation."
"He is trying to starve us out financially before the criminal indictments can be officially filed," General Reed said, slamming his hand on the table.
"He thinks he can use legislative bureaucracy as a weapon to break our morale."
I looked down at the report detailing the proposed Senate rider, feeling a cold determination settle in my bones.
"He still doesn't understand who he is fighting," I said quietly, looking out at the veterans guarding the perimeter gates.
"A politician only understands power when it is standing directly at his front door."
"Isaac, how many active-duty and retired generals have publicly endorsed our transparency push in the last twelve hours?"
General Reed checked his tablet screen, a proud smile finally breaking across his weathered face.
"Forty-two senior officers, Lena," Reed answered immediately. "From every branch of the armed forces."
"They are demanding an immediate ethics investigation into Sterling's committee chairmanship."
"Then we take the fight directly to the capital," I declared, gripping the wheels of my chair.
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"We aren't going to wait for slow federal subpoenas to wind their way through a compromised system."
"We are going to Washington, D.C., and we are going to demand answers on the steps of the Capitol building."
