Some avoided looking at the cameras entirely, knowing their faces might already be trending online. Naomi's latest message confirmed his assessment. Sheriff support crumbling. County commissioners distancing themselves. Three deputies already resigned.
Keep watching. Kerns will be done by sunset. For the first time since the siege began, Elijah allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. Not victory. He'd seen too much combat to celebrate prematurely.
But satisfaction in watching justice gain traction. His wife Loretta would have appreciated the poetry. Truth as the ultimate weapon. Deputy Kyle Mercer's unmarked car pulled up to his mailbox. The young officer left a thick envelope of internal documents before quickly driving away.
More evidence. More ammunition for the truth. Just as Elijah reached for his tablet to check the latest news updates, a new email notification appeared. The sender, Department of Defense Personnel Records Division. Subject line, urgent investigation notice.
His hands, steady through firefights and sieges, tensed as he opened the message. The text was brief, but devastating. This office has received credible evidence questioning the authenticity of your military service records. Allegations include falsification of discharge status and unauthorized claims of special operations service. A formal investigation has been initiated.
Your presence is required. Elijah's jaw clenched. After decades of classified missions, his service record was supposedly untouchable. Someone had found a way to attack it anyway. To make his truth look like lies.
The timestamp on the email matched a call from Sheriff Kerns to a number in Washington, D. C. They couldn't beat him with force, so they were trying to destroy his credibility. If they could make people doubt his military service, they could make them doubt everything else. Through his window, he could see news vans already turning around, probably heading back to their stations with this breaking development.
The story would shift again. Heroes could become villains in the time it took to read a headline. Sheriff Dalton Kerns stood at the courthouse steps, his uniform pressed and medals gleaming in the afternoon sun. News cameras crowded close as he held up a thick folder of documents, his face grave with manufactured concern. "It pains me deeply to share this information," Kerns announced, his voice carrying across the packed square.
"But the public deserves the truth about who Elijah Boone really is. " He pulled out papers bearing official-looking Department of Defense letterheads. "These records show Mr. Boone was dishonorably discharged in 1992 for conduct unbecoming. He never served in any special operations unit. His claims of being a Navy SEAL are stolen valor of the worst kind. " The crowd murmured.
Reporters' hands shot up, but Kerns plowed forward, his rehearsed speech designed for maximum damage. "The man currently occupying that farm is a fraud. He's used false military credentials to gain sympathy while engaging in criminal activities. We have evidence suggesting involvement in drug trafficking, weapons stockpiling, and domestic terrorism. In her Atlanta office, Naomi Price watched the livestream with growing anger.