Chapter 28 - The Corporate Web
By noon the following day, the interrogation of the Richmond depot manager had cracked open an entirely new tier of institutional corruption.
In the Corps Judge Advocate General’s conference room, Colonel David Ramirez, Major Drake, and federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice stood before a large whiteboard mapped with corporate entities, offshore shell accounts, and defense subcontracting firms.
"It wasn't just Vanessa Cole’s cousin," Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Vance (no relation to Marcus Vance) explained, tapping the whiteboard with her dry-erase marker. "Apex Global Depot was just one node. The real mastermind behind the liquidation network is a maritime freight syndicate operating out of Charleston: Palmetto Vanguard Logistics."
"And who sits on the executive advisory board of Palmetto Vanguard?" Sophia asked from the end of the table.
Karen Vance drew a thick red line to three names. "Two retired brigadier generals who left the service five years ago, and a senior civilian executive named Gregory Stone—the Deputy Director of Logistics for Defense Logistics Agency Southeast."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
"Stone was the gatekeeper," Nathan Drake observed, reading through the seized server logs. "Whenever Vanessa Cole or other rogue commanders wanted to write off high-value equipment as combat losses or transit destruction, Stone approved the paperwork at the regional level. In exchange, Palmetto Vanguard received exclusive warehousing contracts and skimmed five percent off every grey-market resale."
"They built a private empire out of the Army’s surplus," Miller said, shaking his head. "They stole boots, radios, engine components, and medical kits from deployed units, then billed the government to purchase new ones from manufacturers in which they held stock."
Sophia walked up to the board, looking at the name of Gregory Stone. For decades, the military had focused its disciplinary hammer on the enlisted soldier caught stealing a rifle optic or an NCO who made a mistake on a travel voucher, while civilian executives and retired flag officers operated multi-million-dollar extraction schemes behind the shield of corporate procurement bureaucracy.
"Does Stone know the Savannah drop was intercepted?" Sophia asked.
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"Not yet," Karen Vance replied. "Our team arrested the dock manager in Savannah an hour ago under a federal sealing order. As far as Stone knows, the trucks from Camp Mackall are running a few hours late due to weather."
"Good," Sophia said, her eyes flashing with dangerous resolve. "Let’s not disappoint him. Major Drake, coordinate with CID. We’re going to deliver this shipment to Charleston ourselves."
