MILLER: “We'll ask him after you're in custody.”
CROSS: “He told you he was protecting the truth. That's what he always said.”
MILLER: “What are you talking about?”
CROSS: “He was the one who approved the transfers.”
Miller's expression remained controlled.
MILLER: “You're lying.”
CROSS: “Then look at the signatures.”
Cross gestured toward the screen.
A digital record appeared.
At the bottom was Arthur Whitmore's name.
The authorization date was eight years earlier.
Miller stepped closer.
CROSS: “Every transfer was approved by him. Every destruction certificate carried his signature.”
MILLER: “The original ledger will tell us whether those signatures are genuine.”
CROSS: “You won't have an original ledger in seven minutes.”
Miller raised his weapon slightly.
MILLER: “Last warning.”
Cross slowly stepped away from the console.
But as the nearest agent moved forward, Cross suddenly slammed his hand against a red emergency switch.
The room plunged into darkness.
An alarm began to sound.
MILLER: “Move! Secure the console!”
The agents activated their lights.
A steel security barrier dropped between the control room and the corridor.
Cross disappeared behind it.
MILLER: “Cross!”
A door slammed somewhere in the darkness.
AGENT HARRIS: “He's heading toward the lower level!”
MILLER: “Harris, take two agents and follow him. Lewis, stay with the technician. Stop that deletion sequence.”
TECHNICIAN: “I'm trying!”
Miller moved toward the console.
The countdown continued.
06:12.
05:58.
05:44.
MILLER: “Can you stop it?”
TECHNICIAN: “The system is rejecting the override.”
MILLER: “Why?”
TECHNICIAN: “It needs the original verification sequence.”
MILLER: “Use the recovered credential.”
TECHNICIAN: “We don't have the physical card.”
Miller looked at the screen.
Then he remembered Arthur's warning.
The serial numbers.
The original identification sequence.
MILLER: “Call the hospital.”
***
At the hospital, Arthur was watching the news on a small television mounted above the bed.
The report was about an unrelated traffic incident.
Rebecca sat in the chair beside him, scrolling through her phone.
When Miller's call came through, Arthur answered immediately.
ARTHUR: “Agent Miller?”
MILLER: “We found Cross.”
ARTHUR: “Is he in custody?”
MILLER: “Not yet. He's inside the facility. The archive system is deleting itself, and we need the original verification sequence.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
ARTHUR: “I told you the system would require it.”
MILLER: “Can you provide it?”
ARTHUR: “Not from memory. The sequence is long.”
MILLER: “We have less than six minutes.”
Arthur looked at Rebecca.
ARTHUR: “Bring me the folder from my coat.”
Rebecca stood immediately.
REBECCA: “Which folder?”
ARTHUR: “The brown one. The one the FBI recovered from the station.”
Rebecca called the agent stationed outside the room.
A few minutes later, the folder was brought in.
Arthur opened it carefully with his uninjured hand.
Inside were pension documents, an old photograph, and several pages of handwritten notes.
ARTHUR: “There.”
He pointed to a series of numbers written along the edge of a folded sheet.
REBECCA: “What are those?”
ARTHUR: “The verification sequence.”
MILLER: “Read them to me.”
Arthur began reading.
ARTHUR: “Seven. One. Four. Nine. Two. Six. Zero. Three.”
Miller repeated the numbers.
The technician entered them.
Nothing happened.
TECHNICIAN: “Rejected.”
Arthur frowned.
ARTHUR: “That's the first layer. There's another sequence underneath.”
He turned the page.
ARTHUR: “The system requires the original serial number, followed by the audit date.”
MILLER: “Give it to me.”
Arthur read the next line.
The technician entered the numbers.
The screen flashed.
ACCESS DENIED.
MILLER: “It's not working.”
Arthur stared at the paper.
Then he noticed something.
ARTHUR: “Wait.”
MILLER: “What?”
ARTHUR: “I wrote that sequence before the facility closed. The system was updated after the final audit.”
MILLER: “Do you remember the update?”
ARTHUR: “Yes.”
He turned to the last page.
ARTHUR: “There was a correction. The original sequence was changed by one digit.”
REBECCA: “Which digit?”
Arthur looked at the page for several seconds.
ARTHUR: “The last number. It should be eight, not three.”
Miller relayed the correction.
The technician entered the new sequence.
The screen went black.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then a new message appeared.
VERIFICATION ACCEPTED.
ARCHIVE DELETION SUSPENDED.
The technician exhaled.
TECHNICIAN: “We stopped it.”
Miller closed his eyes briefly.
MILLER: “Secure the archive.”
But Arthur was not smiling.
ARTHUR: “Agent Miller?”
MILLER: “Yes?”
ARTHUR: “Open the original ledger.”
MILLER: “The archive is secure. We'll examine it once the building is safe.”
ARTHUR: “No. Open it now.”
MILLER: “Why?”
Arthur looked at the screen.
ARTHUR: “Because the system just accepted my sequence.”
MILLER: “That's what we wanted.”
ARTHUR: “Not necessarily. The original ledger has a second protection layer. If someone has already altered the records, the system will identify the last person who authenticated them.”
Miller looked at the technician.
MILLER: “Can you check?”
The technician opened the audit history.
A new record appeared.
LAST AUTHENTICATED USER: ARTHUR WHITMORE.
DATE: CURRENT.
TIME: 00:43.
Miller's expression tightened.
MILLER: “That's impossible.”
ARTHUR: “No. Someone used my identity again.”
MILLER: “The sequence you just gave us?”
ARTHUR: “The system shouldn't have accepted it if the archive had already been modified.”
MILLER: “Then what happened?”
Arthur's voice became quiet.
ARTHUR: “Someone knew I would provide the sequence. They were waiting for it.”
Miller stared at the screen.
A new notification appeared.
ARCHIVE ACCESS GRANTED.
USER: A. WHITMORE.