Eleanor shook her head.
ELEANOR:
"This is becoming frightening."
Arthur squeezed her hand.
ARTHUR:
"I know."
***
Back at the station, the FBI agents were examining the available security recordings.
The footage showed Arthur entering the station at approximately 9:14 a.m.
He walked toward the ticket machines, checked his envelope, and waited near the platform entrance.
Several minutes later, Vance approached him.
The camera captured their conversation.
It also captured the officer reaching for the envelope.
Agent Harris paused the recording.
AGENT HARRIS:
"Look at his right hand."
Miller leaned closer.
AGENT MILLER:
"Go back."
Harris rewound the footage.
They watched again.
When Vance opened the envelope, he removed several documents.
Then he appeared to take something small from the inside pocket.
He briefly lowered his hand toward the side of his tactical vest.
The movement was partially obscured by his body.
Miller stared at the screen.
AGENT MILLER:
"Freeze it."
Harris stopped the recording.
AGENT MILLER:
"Enhance that section."
AGENT HARRIS:
"We'll need the original recording for proper examination."
AGENT MILLER:
"I know. Preserve it."
Harris continued reviewing the footage.
Several seconds later, Vance pushed Arthur.
The elderly man fell.
Vance then reached toward the envelope again.
But something unusual happened.
As he stood up, a small rectangular object appeared near the edge of the platform.
It remained there for approximately twelve seconds.
Then another person entered the camera's field of view.
A man wearing a dark coat bent down, picked up the object, and walked toward the stairs.
Miller stared at the screen.
AGENT MILLER:
"Who is that?"
Harris zoomed in.
AGENT HARRIS:
"I can't identify him from this angle."
AGENT MILLER:
"Track his movement through the other cameras."
Harris began searching.
The man appeared again near the ticket barriers.
Then disappeared behind a group of passengers.
AGENT MILLER:
"Get transit security to preserve every camera covering that exit."
AGENT HARRIS:
"Understood."
Miller looked toward the evidence container.
The missing identification card was no longer simply an unexplained administrative issue.
Someone might have taken it.
And if that person knew what the card represented, the consequences could extend far beyond the station.
***
At the hospital, Arthur received another visit.
This time, Agent Miller arrived with a folder.
AGENT MILLER:
"Mr. Whitmore, I have an update."
Arthur looked at him.
ARTHUR:
"Did you find the card?"
Miller sat beside the bed.
AGENT MILLER:
"Not yet. But we found something on the station cameras."
ARTHUR:
"What?"
AGENT MILLER:
"A second individual may have picked up the missing credential after it fell near the platform."
Arthur frowned.
ARTHUR:
"Someone else was involved?"
AGENT MILLER:
"We're trying to establish whether the individual knew what he was collecting."
ARTHUR:
"Did Officer Vance drop it?"
Miller paused.
AGENT MILLER:
"The footage suggests that the card may have fallen during the confrontation."
Arthur closed his eyes.
ARTHUR:
"Then we need to find it."
AGENT MILLER:
"We're working on that."
ARTHUR:
"Agent, that credential should never have been outside controlled custody."
AGENT MILLER:
"I understand."
ARTHUR:
"If someone connects the serial numbers to the archived equipment records, they could identify the locations involved in the old investigation."
Miller nodded.
AGENT MILLER:
"That's exactly why we're concerned."
Arthur looked at Rebecca.
She had been listening carefully.
REBECCA:
"Can someone explain what those serial numbers actually mean?"
Miller opened the folder.
AGENT MILLER:
"Several years ago, a federal transportation security program used specialized equipment to monitor restricted infrastructure sites. Every unit was assigned a unique serial number. Those numbers were entered into a protected inventory system."
REBECCA:
"And some of those units were reported destroyed?"
AGENT MILLER:
"Correct."
ARTHUR:
"But the records suggest that several may have reappeared through unauthorized private transactions."
Rebecca stared at the folder.
REBECCA:
"How many?"
Miller looked toward Arthur.
AGENT MILLER:
"That's the question we're still investigating."
Arthur slowly nodded.
AGENT MILLER:
"Mr. Whitmore, there's another issue. When dispatch verified your identity this morning, the system returned a restricted alert."
ARTHUR:
"What kind of alert?"
AGENT MILLER:
"It confirmed that your historical service credentials were associated with an active federal inquiry."
ARTHUR:
"That's why the dispatcher asked for the serial numbers."
Miller nodded.
AGENT MILLER:
"Yes. The system matched your identification with a protected personnel record. Dispatch then contacted the appropriate federal liaison."
Arthur looked troubled.
ARTHUR:
"Did the system identify my original credential?"
AGENT MILLER:
"It identified your registered serial numbers."
Rebecca turned toward her father.
REBECCA:
"Wait. The serial numbers are connected to your identification?"
ARTHUR:
"Yes. Every authorized credential has a registered identifier."
AGENT MILLER:
"And the three numbers returned by dispatch matched the records associated with Mr. Whitmore."
Rebecca looked toward Miller.
REBECCA:
"So the system knew who he was before the FBI arrived?"
AGENT MILLER:
"Precisely."
ARTHUR:
"Then why did it take so long for somebody to respond?"
Miller lowered his eyes briefly.
AGENT MILLER:
"Because the initial information was incomplete. Once the identity match was confirmed, the notification was escalated."
Arthur shook his head.
ARTHUR:
"Meanwhile, I was lying on the floor."
Miller did not argue.
AGENT MILLER:
"You're right. And that is part of the review."
***