Back at the cabin, Cam and Kristy poured over the photos. They started by reading the forms and reports in the pictures.

“These are all reports that Alex made. They’re complaints.” Cam muttered as he read.

“About what?” Kristy leaned in closer.

Cam pointed to one picture. “This one says that one of the officers is stealing confidential information,” He opened the next one. “And this one is a complaint against some of the other soldiers for abusing prisoners and defiling dead bodies.”

“How serious is this kind of thing in the military?”

“It’s all pretty serious. The stealing of any information is a big deal, but there has to be proof. And there are a couple different reports about it, so either he had no proof or the person he reported it to did nothing.” Cam clicked through the pictures until he came to the one of a soldier giving an envelope to an Afghan man. “It looks like he thought he had proof, but this isn’t a smoking gun.”

Kristy sat quietly for a few minutes and let that possibility resonate. Finally she leaned forward to join Cam. “Is there a name on those reports? Does it say who’s being accused?”

“Ahh, smart girl.” They both scanned the reports. “There,” Cam pointed at the screen. “This one says it’s Deputy Inspector General Thatcher. Wow, that’s a big deal.”

“Why? Who’s that?” Kristy asked.

“The position is known as the ‘conscience of the Army’.” He formed air quotes with his fingers as he said it. “He’s the guy that’s supposed to investigate these kinds of things and make sure the values of the Army are being upheld. Basically, Alex accused him of doing exactly the thing he’s supposed to make sure doesn’t happen.”

“Well, shit.” Kristy chewed her thumb nail for a moment. “Okay, so we should be able to call someone or something, right?”

“Whoa, slow down. One step at a time. All we have are some pictures. We don’t know what they mean. Let’s check out the video. There’s a reason Alex left it. Let’s find out what it is.”

Kristy nodded in agreement and Cam opened the video. The first thing they saw was the back of a man walking down what looked like the same dirt brown hallway that was in some of the photos. The person with the camera was following the first man. The video was unsteady and they could hear more than one man laughing, but they couldn’t see anyone else. Soon the man in the front stopped and opened a door. He walked inside followed by the cameraman and the other voices that could be heard.

The man in front finally turned to face the camera. He was older than the men that were in the other pictures. He was taller than the cameraman and had a scar on his right cheek. What was left of his dark gray hair was in a tight buzz-cut around his head. The patch over the left side of his chest read ‘Thatcher.’

“Come on, boys,” he said, “We’re going to learn a lesson today. It’s called don’t lie to your business partner.” He pulled a flask out of his jacket pocket and took a swig.

Cam and Kristy watched as the camera followed him into a small room where an Afghan man was sitting on the dirt floor with his head resting on his hands. As soon as Thatcher and the cameraman entered the room he looked up at them. Thatcher grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

“You broke our deal.” Thatcher said to the man.

“I have no deal with you.” The man snapped in a heavy accent. He held Thatcher’s stare, trying to look braver than he felt.

“Yes you do. My men and I were supposed to take out this shit-hole you call a home, but instead, we protected it. I made a deal with your boss. I took out his enemies, I steered my country away from him, I committed treason, and in exchange I was supposed to get paid.” Thatcher held the man by the throat. The man cowered as Thatcher growled down at him. “But I did not get paid. Where is my money?”

“I have no money.” The man finally said after Thatcher let him go. “The man I work for has your money. I have nothing to give you. I am only a messenger.”

“Only a messenger? Well, I’ve got a message for you.” Thatcher motioned for the other men in the room. Logan and another soldier held the man’s arms and they walked him out of the room and down the hall after Thatcher. When they reached the end of the hall, Thatcher unlocked a pad lock on a wooden door and they led the man into the room. Before the cameraman entered the room, Cam and Kristy could hear the man yelling in a language they did not understand.

When the camera finally turned into the room, they saw two young women in long dresses with their wrists tied together and attached to the ceiling. The balls of their feet were all that was able to touch the floor and both of their mouths had tape over them. They looked terrified. The cameraman turned to face the man and the two soldiers who were holding him by the arms. The man no longer looked brave. He looked helpless.

“Well, don’t be rude,” Thatcher looked down at the man. “Say hello to your daughters.” The man hung his head and mumbled something, but they couldn’t tell what. Thatcher grabbed the man’s chin and lifted his head. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to choose one of these pretty girls to stay here with me and my men. She will keep us company until such a time comes that we are finished with her, and then we will kill her.” The man’s eyes got wide as he watched Thatcher walk toward his daughters and admire them. “We’ll call it a late payment.”

“I cannot choose between my daughters. Please, let them go home. I will get your money.” The man was on his knees now, pleading in broken English.

“You will choose one of your daughters,” Thatcher said again. “Or I will kill both of them and you can live the rest of your life without them.” He walked behind one of the girls and took his knife out of his pocket. Starting at the neck, he cut her dress open in the back. Thatcher reached inside and splayed his hand against her stomach. He slid his other hand into the opening he cut and ran his hand down the side of her body. He felt her body trembling as his hand reached her hip. He smiled at her father as his hand came back up and rested on her behind.

“No,” the man shouted at him from his hands and knees. “Stop touching her!” he tried to get up but the soldiers shoved him back to the ground.

“If you aren’t going to choose for me, I’ll have to pick one myself.” Thatcher glared at the man. Then he turned to his fellow soldiers. “Come take look at this.” Two men joined Thatcher behind the woman. He used both of his hands to tear the opening in her dress a little bigger. “Look at that.” He laughed with the two other men and all three of them reached inside her dress and ran their hands up and down her whole body. She twisted and pulled at her restraints but she couldn’t move. They cupped her breasts in their hands and squeezed her behind. The cameraman came closer to the woman’s face. Her eyes were red from crying and her whole body was shaking.

“Now, let’s have a look at the other one,” Thatcher said, “Unless you’re going to choose for me.” He looked at the man again, who was screaming at Thatcher in another language. He lunged at him, and two of Thatcher’s men held him back and threw him to the floor.

Thatcher waved two of the men out of his way and stood behind the first woman again.

“You’re angry. You want me dead.” He said to the man on the floor. “That’s good.” He reached inside the first woman’s dress and smiled down at her furious father. He put one hand between her breasts and slid the other hand between her thighs and let his fingers brush her most sensitive area before he inserted two fingers. The tape over the woman’s mouth muffled her screams and Thatcher closed his eyes and smiled, as if savoring every moment of her agony. “Oh yeah,” He nodded to the men beside him before he finally removed his fingers. “This would make some very good company.” He stepped away from her and smiled at them. “See for yourselves.”

The young woman sobbed and screamed against the tape over her mouth as the two men proceeded to touch her. They tore her dress even more. Pieces of fabric still hung over her arms, but most of the dress was puddled on the floor. Her exposed body was stretched from floor to ceiling, giving her no room to put up an effective fight against the assault.

Thatcher walked to where the man was being held against the floor and crouched down in front of him. “Have you made a decision?”

“Please…” It was all the man could choke out before Thatcher left his side and proceeded to violate his second daughter. This time he cut open the front of her dress and left her bare in front of everyone in the room.

“No, please, no!” The man yelled as he watched. He struggled to free himself from the grip of the two men at his sides. “You will burn in hell! All of you!”

Thatcher pushed his hands over both of her breasts and squeezed them hard before he twisted her nipples in his fingers. He lowered his hands and cupped her behind with both hands as he took one of her nipples in his mouth. Like her sister, she tried to scream, but the muffled sounds were barely heard over the noise of the laughter coming from the men around her. She pulled at the ropes and tried to twist her body away from him, but it was useless. There was nowhere she could go.

When Thatcher was finished, he turned back around to look at their father. “You don’t want me making this decision,” he said to him. “So, I’ll ask you one more time, which daughter would you like to take home, and which one are you going to leave with me?”

The man cried in his hands. His voice desperate and ragged. “Please,” He finally looked up at Thatcher. “Let them go home. I will stay. Torture me; beat me; whatever you want. Please.”

“No. I think I’ll keep them both.” Thatcher looked up at the two soldiers who had been holding the man. “Get him up.” He instructed them. “I’ll tell you what I will do though,” Thatcher was addressing the man again. “You go tell your boss about this. He’s got a family too, ya know. And, assuming they’re still alive, I’ll think about letting you take these girls home when the two of you come back with my fucking money!” He shouted at the man and then waved at the soldiers on each side of him. They drug the man out of the room screaming back at Thatcher. The rest of the soldiers stayed behind with the women. The last thing on the video was the sound of Thatcher’s laughter.

Cam looked over at Kristy. She had both of her hands over her mouth and she looked like she was near tears.

“Come here.” He put his hand around her shoulders and pulled her to him. She buried her face in his neck. The video disturbed them both.

“I don’t understand how people can do things like this.” She pulled her face away from him and rubbed her eyes.

“I know.” Cam sighed. “I don’t either. Let’s take a break.”

“I need a drink.” Kristy went into the kitchen and returned with two beers. She opened hers and sucked down almost half of it in the first drink. “Do you have anything stronger than beer here?”

“Wow, you really do need a drink,” Cam chuckled. “I think there’s some Jack Daniels in the freezer.”

“My favorite.” Kristy took another long drink of her beer and went to retrieve the bottle of whiskey. She was taking a drink straight from the bottle when she came back to where Cam was sitting.

“Slow down, turbo. You won’t last until dinner.” He took the bottle from her and set it on the table.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I want all of that out of my head. I’ve seen graphic movies before, but I always knew it was fake. Those poor women. I wonder what happened to them.”

“Nothing good.” He closed the file. “Let’s check out the other one. The audio file. You ready?”

Kristy took a deep breath and another drink. “Okay, play it.”

He clicked play and they looked at each other as they listened. It started with a shuffling sound, like a phone call from someone’s pocket. After a minute the shuffling stopped and they heard three knocks on a door. There was a muffled voice from the other side of the door, and they heard it open and close.

“Good afternoon, Pierce. What can I do for you?” The first voice said.

“Sir,” It was Alex’s voice. “I want out. I’ve put in a request to be transferred to another unit for the remainder of my term.”

“No. Request denied. I need you here.” The other man replied without hesitation. It was General Thatcher’s voice. They recognized it from the video they’d just watched.

“Okay.” Alex said. They heard the sound of papers being shuffled, and then, “These are copies of reports and complaints I have prepared. Either I get transferred, or I send them to the Colonel first thing tomorrow.”

“Where do you think he will send them to be investigated? They will end up on my desk.” Thatcher stated calmly.

“Not if you’re the subject of the complaint.” There was silence, the sound of papers being moved again, and then they heard a chair move followed by the sound of footsteps.

“What are you trying to pull here, Pierce?”

“I can’t be a part of what’s going on here. I just want to finish my tour and go home to my family.”

“Son, you know way too much for me to just let you leave. How do I know I can trust you?”

“You can trust that I’ll share that information with the whole world if I have to remain in this unit, Sir.”

“Is that right?” Thatcher scoffed and there was a short pause. “It’s a shame you put me in this position. I like you, Pierce, and I’d hate to see something happen to you over here. It’s a dangerous place we’re in.”

“If something happens to me, you can be sure that all your little secrets will be released to the public. I’ve taken great care to make sure of that, and I’ve got more than just a few papers, Sir. A lot more.”

“Is that right?” Thatcher chuckled. He was amused by Alex’s threat. “We’ll see about that. You’re not going anywhere, Pierce, so you may as well settle in. Now get out of my office.” They heard the door open and slam closed again, and then the audio ended.

“Cam,” Kristy voice was shaking.

“I know…” He ran both of his hands through his hair.

“Oh my god,” She stood up. Cam could tell she was about to lose her mind. “He killed Alex.”