Part 1: The Collapse It was supposed to be the biggest, most pivotal day of my life. The kind of day you circle…

PART 1: THE CALCULATION The plate slammed onto the counter so hard the silverware jumped. A sloppy gravitational pull of thick, brown gravy…

Part 1: The Briefing Room Showdown The air in the Naval Special Warfare Command briefing room was thick with the scent of stale…

Part 1 It started on a quiet Sunday morning at a gas station near the naval base. The October air carried the first…

Part 1: The Silent S.O.S. The marble floor of the Union Station in Washington D.C. always pulsed with a restless, chaotic energy. For…

Part 1 The city of Astoria, Oregon, felt like a held breath. A constant, heavy mist clung to the mouth of the Columbia…

Part 1 The gravel crunched under the bald tires of my pickup, a truck that had seen at least two wars and looked…

Part 1 It was supposed to be an ordinary morning. 8:00 AM at the terminal. The air smelled like burnt coffee and jet…

PART 1: The First 72 Hours: A Wilderness of Grief and the Vow The heat was a living thing, a predator far more…

PART 1: THE PIN I Pinned a “Civilian” to the Wall and Called Her Stupid for Touching a Billion-Dollar Stealth Jet Simulator—A Single…