Salt Kiss – Episode 52
General Thomas received Tristan in a military office stripped of anything personal. Even here, his father arranged the room so every visitor stood beneath his authority.
“You look distracted,” Ricker said. “Trevena’s world is making you soft.”
Tristan ignored the insult and placed the defense contractor records on the desk. “Why is this company connected to the man attacking Mark?”
His father’s expression changed for only a second, but it was enough.
“You knew there was a threat when you sent me to him.”
Ricker admitted that military intelligence had tracked illegal weapons and political payments through Mark’s rivals. Placing Tristan inside the Lyonesse gave him an unofficial observer no agency paperwork could expose.
“You used me as an informant without telling me.”
“I gave you a purpose when you were begging to avoid duty.”
Rage stripped away Tristan’s remaining hope that his father had acted from concern. The job had never been mercy; it was another deployment disguised as rescue.
“Who leads the network?”
Ricker named Adrian Vale, a financier tied to weapons trafficking and the rival organization responsible for Mark’s earlier loss. Vale had used the Laurence adviser to sabotage the alliance.
“Why did you not warn Mark?”
“Because Trevena was bait.” Ricker spoke without shame. “And so were you.”
Tristan’s hand closed into a fist. A younger version of himself would have struck the desk or begged for approval. The man he had become simply stood.
“Give me everything you have on Vale.”
“Return to active duty and I will consider it.”
The old threat no longer carried the same power. Tristan removed his military identification and set it before his father.
“I would rather lose your name than lose myself again.” He turned toward the door, unaware that Mark and Isolde had heard every word through the transmitter hidden beneath his collar.