No-Name Body Armor Vest

No label. No test card. Just a dark vest with fresh stitching over old needle holes and plates that ring differently when tapped. The carrier is surplus security gear cut down to fit under a jacket. Front and back pockets hold composite inserts whose corners have been sanded so the serials no longer exist. It rides high, protects the heart and lungs, and leaves the belly exposed. Sweat has salted the straps white despite somebody’s attempt to dye them. This is not armor you trust. It is armor you wear because the alternative is a shirt. Check the plates under strong light, replace the elastic, and do not ask whose shape remains in the padding.