"So you protected your career."
"I thought I was protecting the institution."
"No. You protected yourself."
Harlan accepted the accusation without argument.
He removed a second document.
"This is a transcript of the final transmission received from the vessel."
Richard read the first lines.
Command has been compromised.
Blackwood is not acting alone.
We have the evidence.
Then the transmission ended.
Richard looked up.
"Who else was involved?"
Harlan hesitated.
"Someone who is still serving."
"Who?"
Before the general could answer, the conference room door opened.
Rear Admiral Thomas Blackwood entered.
He appeared completely calm.
"Victor. Richard. I hope I'm not interrupting."
Richard turned toward him.
For twenty years, he had considered Blackwood a friend.
Now he saw only a man who had helped bury his son's identity.
"Get out," Richard said.
Blackwood raised an eyebrow.
"This is a military facility, Admiral. I have every right to be here."
"Not anymore."
Blackwood glanced at the folder.
"Ah. I see the old stories are coming back."
Harlan stood.
"Thomas, it's over."
Blackwood smiled.
"Is it?"
He placed a small device on the table.
A digital recording began playing.
It was Michael's voice.
If anything happens to me, remember that my father signed the order.
Richard froze.
The recording continued.
He knows more than he admits.
Blackwood stopped the playback.
"You see, Richard? Your son understood the truth long before you did."
Richard looked at Harlan.
"What is he talking about?"
The general did not answer.
Blackwood smiled again.
"Ask your general why the original mission was approved."
Then he walked out.
Daniel moved toward the door, but Richard stopped him.
"Let him go."
"Sir?"
Richard looked down at the recording device.
His son had not merely disappeared.
He had known that someone close to his father was involved.
And now Richard was beginning to suspect that the person he needed to confront most was not Blackwood.
It was himself.
The meeting ended without an arrest.
Harlan left headquarters under security escort, while Richard returned to his office with Daniel.
Neither man spoke for several minutes.
Finally, Daniel placed the recording device on the desk.
"Sir, we need to verify the authenticity of that transmission."
Richard nodded.
"Have the technical division analyze it."
"Yes, sir."
Daniel hesitated.
"May I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"Do you believe you were involved in the operation's cover-up?"
Richard looked at him.
It was a dangerous question.
But Daniel had earned the right to ask it.
"I signed the report."
"Did you know it was false?"
"No."
"Then why did Blackwood say you knew?"
Richard looked toward the window.
"Because I approved the classification. I accepted his investigation. I never demanded to see the original evidence."
Daniel lowered his eyes.
"That's not the same as knowing."
"No. But it doesn't make me innocent."
A knock came from the hallway.
One of the security officers entered.
"Admiral, General Harlan has requested that you meet him privately. He says it concerns Lieutenant Commander Carter."
Richard stood immediately.
"Where is he?"
"At the old naval communications building."
Daniel frowned.
"Sir, that facility has been closed for years."
Richard grabbed his coat.
"Then let's find out why he's there."
They drove through the rain toward the abandoned building.
Inside, the corridors were dark and silent.
A single light was visible at the end of the second floor.
Harlan was waiting beside an old communications console.
He looked exhausted.
"Thank you for coming."
Richard approached him.
"Where is Evelyn Carter?"
"I don't know."
"Then why did you ask me to come?"
Harlan removed a small metal case from his coat.
"Because I finally found what Michael was trying to protect."
He opened it.
Inside was a miniature storage device.
Daniel recognized the encrypted military markings.
"Is that the original evidence?"
Harlan nodded.
"Michael sent a copy of the files through an emergency communications channel. The transmission was intercepted, but the device was recovered by someone outside the investigation."
"Who?" Richard asked.
Harlan looked toward the dark corridor.
"James Carter."
Richard stared at him.
"James survived?"
"I believe so."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. But Evelyn may be able to find him."
Richard reached for the device.
Harlan pulled it back.
"There's something you need to understand first."
"What?"
"Michael didn't simply discover a conspiracy. He discovered that the operation was being used to identify officers who refused to participate in illegal activities."
Daniel frowned.
"Why would anyone do that?"
"Because the people behind it needed loyal officers removed from sensitive positions."
Richard felt a chill.
"How many?"
"At least eleven."
The general handed him a list.
Several names were crossed out.
Others were marked with red circles.
Richard recognized three of them.
All had died under suspicious circumstances.
Then he noticed a name at the bottom.
ELEANOR WHITMORE.
He looked up.
"Why is my wife on this list?"
Harlan's expression changed.
"Because she received a message from Michael shortly before the operation failed."
Richard stepped closer.
"What message?"
"Michael told her where the evidence was hidden."
A loud metallic sound echoed through the building.
Daniel drew his weapon.
"Who's there?"
The lights went out.
A second later, a gunshot rang through the corridor.
Richard dropped behind the communications console.
When the emergency lights came on, Harlan was lying on the floor.
Blood stained his uniform.
Daniel rushed toward him.
"General!"
Harlan grabbed his sleeve.
"Listen..."
Richard knelt beside him.