Chapter 7: The Scout’s Report

Likewise, late at night.

Harrison, not yet asleep, mused playfully:

"He said that?"

He leaned back in his chair, swirling a glass of bourbon. The city lights blinked outside, the hum of traffic barely audible through thick walls.

Standing before him was a member of the upgraded "Scout" team he’d established after witnessing chaos under Sebastian. The Scout’s role, inspired by Civil War intelligence units, was to spy on corrupt officials and report only to Harrison.

The agent stood ramrod straight, clipboard in hand. The Scout team was Harrison’s eyes and ears, trusted above all others.

The original Shadow Watch were just minor officials in charge of catching criminals. This upgraded Scout, however, was responsible for rooting out corruption and reporting directly to Harrison.

The Scout shifted nervously, unsure whether to speak or remain silent.

After hearing the report, Harrison smiled faintly: "I never knew officials now talk about merit and hard work."

He let the words hang, irony thick. The Scout nodded, lips pressed tight.

The person standing there dared not speak.

Seeing him still trembling, Harrison waved him away.

He watched the Scout disappear down the hallway, the sound of footsteps fading into the night. Another day, another secret kept.

After several days, Gabe, finally allowed back before the president, entered quietly, eyes lowered, hands clasped. The tension was palpable.

"Gabe."

After a long silence, Harrison suddenly spoke.

He looked up, voice calm but loaded with meaning. "Tell me, if I appoint Mason Greer as Inspector General now, what would the cabinet think?"

Gabe swallowed hard, the implications settling in. The room felt colder, the stakes higher than ever.

The Inspector General oversees officials, inspects agencies, corrects legal cases, and maintains government discipline. Appointing someone who was once chief of staff, later demoted, and who had deep enmity with Leonard Finley, to such a position—the president’s intentions would be clear.

Gabe’s mind raced, remembering every whisper and rumor from the last few years. This was more than a personnel change—it was a declaration of war.

Shocked, Gabe couldn’t help but look up at the president he’d served for years.

The familiar face, but now the aura of authority was stronger than ever—even more than when Sebastian was at his most spirited.

Under the flickering desk lamp, the president’s face half-hidden in shadow, made Gabe break out in a cold sweat in the winter chill.

He shifted his feet, wishing he’d worn thicker socks. The silence stretched, heavy with possibility.

Gabe was terrified. The president had truly changed.

He nodded, voice trembling, and waited for Harrison’s final word.