Chapter 11: The Roster
We found Leo in the laundry room, folding sheets that were not his.
His hands stopped mid fold.
"Private Miller, sit down," I said. "You are not in trouble."
"That is what people say before trouble starts."
Shaw pulled out a chair. "Then sit before trouble gets tired of waiting."
Leo sat, one hand flat on the sheet.
"I need to ask you about Building Twelve," I said.
His eyes dropped. "The maps say eleven buildings, ma'am."
"I know. I am asking what you carried, and where."
"Leo, that canteen started something we cannot put back. Tell me the truth about one night."
He shook his head. "Sterling said men who count buildings that do not exist disappear."
"Did he say that to you directly?" Shaw asked.
"Yes, sir. Two weeks ago."
"Walk us through that night," I said.
"It was a Thursday. Kitchen detail until eighteen hundred. Then Hayes said my name was on a duty roster for a work party. No questions."
"Who issued the roster?" I asked.
"Major Sterling. His signature was at the bottom. Hayes showed it to me."
"What time did it start?" Shaw asked.
"Twenty one hundred. After dark. The other two men got pulled for gate duty, so it was me and a driver I did not know."
"Name?"
"He never gave one. Civilian jacket, military truck."
"Where did you load?" I asked.
"Motor pool, north side. Six wooden crates under a tarp, heavy for their size. We loaded them and drove four hundred yards without headlights."
"Where to?"
Leo looked down. "The old ammo inspection warehouse the civilians call Building Twelve."
Shaw stopped writing. "Say that again, clearly."
"I hauled crates to Building Twelve. Six crates, through the side door. The back room had power, shelves, and new locks."
"Did you open a crate?" I asked.
"No, ma'am. The driver said medical markings meant fragile, and I would pay if anything rattled."
"Did you see inside any of them?" Shaw asked.
"One lid was cracked. Plastic inside, and metal that looked expensive."
"After you unloaded, what happened?"
"Major Sterling was there, out of uniform, by the office door. He said the roster would say motor pool inventory, my memory would say the same, and I would stay silent."
Shaw turned to a clean page. "Private, I need a formal statement. Everything, in order, with times."
Leo looked at me. "If I sign that, he will know."
"He already knows we are asking," I said. "Help us put the law behind you when you answer."
"Will a statement do that?"
"It gives a judge facts," Shaw said. "Judges like facts better than rumors."
Leo let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "All right. Write it exactly, not cleaned up."
"We will write it the way you say it," I promised.
It took forty minutes. Shaw asked, Leo answered, and his sentences got steadier. He repeated the roster, the route, the warehouse, and the order to stay silent.
"Six crates, not five. The driver made me count out loud twice."
"Sign here," Shaw said. "Print below. Date and time."
Leo signed with a shaking hand.
Shaw stepped into the hall and made a call I heard in pieces. Duty roster. Named witness. Risk of removal.
"The judge has the packet," he said. "She wants the roster verified against the duty log first."
"I can verify it," Leo said. "Hayes keeps a copy of the logbook in the orderly room, because Sterling kept changing times."
I looked at him. "You did not mention a copy before."
"I was still deciding whether I was a coward. I ran out of time to be one."
Shaw was already moving. "Show us the page, Private."
The clerk did not argue when Shaw showed his credentials. The duty log matched Leo's statement: date, hour, work party, motor pool, and a destination code instead of a building number.
Shaw photographed it and sent it at once.
We waited in the Provost Marshal's office while Rennick kept the hallway clear. Leo sat between two agents and drank water from a paper cup.
Shaw's phone buzzed. He read the screen.
"Emergency access granted," he said. "The judge signed two minutes ago. Warehouse, office, and locked storage. We move now."
Leo stood too fast. "Am I going with you?"
"No," I said. "You stay here, under protection. If anyone asks, Shaw told you to sit and drink water."
"That is the first order today that makes sense," Leo said.
Outside, the team was staging by the vehicles, checking radios and warrants. Shaw handed me a copy of the order, still warm from the printer.
"Lawful access," he said. "No shortcuts. No Sterling rules."
I pocketed it and looked north.
"Then let us see the building that does not exist," I said.