GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Which accounts?"
JAMES PORTER: "Samuel Price, Gregory Shaw, and an account registered to a consulting company called Northbridge Advisory Group."
Evelyn recognized the company name.
It had appeared in the original procurement correspondence as an independent consultant.
EVELYN CARTER: "Who owns Northbridge Advisory Group?"
James searched the company record.
JAMES PORTER: "The registered director is a person named Edward Lawson."
Daniel looked up.
DANIEL REEVES: "Related to Richard Lawson?"
James continued reading.
JAMES PORTER: "The company registration lists Edward Lawson as a family member of Richard Lawson."
The room fell silent.
The connection was no longer merely suspicious.
The company seeking the contract had paid a consulting firm connected to its owner. That consulting firm had received money through a series of administrative transactions. And the same procurement office had approved a revised technical assessment containing an unauthorized signature.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "This is no longer just a question about a contract."
EVELYN CARTER: "No, sir. We may be looking at deliberate interference with the procurement process."
DANIEL REEVES: "And the missing report."
EVELYN CARTER: "Yes."
General Harrington turned toward the investigative team leader, who had just entered the room.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "I want this information secured immediately. No one contacts the companies involved until the investigative unit has reviewed the evidence."
INVESTIGATIVE TEAM LEADER: "Understood, General."
EVELYN CARTER: "We should also verify whether any equipment from the revised contract has already been delivered."
The team leader nodded.
INVESTIGATIVE TEAM LEADER: "I'll request the delivery records."
EVELYN CARTER: "And identify the facilities where it may have been installed."
The team leader wrote down the instruction.
INVESTIGATIVE TEAM LEADER: "We'll handle it."
At that moment, James received an alert.
He looked at the screen and frowned.
JAMES PORTER: "General, there has been another access attempt."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "From where?"
JAMES PORTER: "The external connection associated with Meridian Storage and Logistics."
EVELYN CARTER: "What are they trying to access?"
James checked.
JAMES PORTER: "The supplier correspondence archive."
Evelyn immediately looked toward the general.
EVELYN CARTER: "They know we're reviewing the records."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Can you block the connection?"
JAMES PORTER: "It's already blocked."
EVELYN CARTER: "Preserve the request."
JAMES PORTER: "Yes."
Daniel looked at the screen.
DANIEL REEVES: "Someone at Meridian is trying to reach the same files that Price accessed."
EVELYN CARTER: "Which means the missing report may not be the only document they want to move."
The investigative team leader stepped forward.
INVESTIGATIVE TEAM LEADER: "General, we should consider securing the storage facility."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "On what basis?"
INVESTIGATIVE TEAM LEADER: "We have an external connection from that location, supplier correspondence involving the same company, and a possible attempt to transfer restricted documents."
Evelyn considered the evidence.
EVELYN CARTER: "We should establish the connection before entering the premises. But the facility should be placed under observation while the legal team reviews the available records."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Agreed."
The team leader contacted the appropriate investigative office.
Within minutes, a surveillance request was being prepared.
Meanwhile, Richard Lawson remained in the waiting area at the ceremonial building.
His attorney had returned to make a private call, leaving Richard alone with two security officers nearby.
Richard had become quieter.
His earlier anger had not disappeared, but it had been replaced by a growing sense of uncertainty.
He had expected the confrontation to be resolved quickly.
He had expected Evelyn to be reprimanded.
He had expected someone from the administrative office to call and assure him that the situation was under control.
Instead, his phone had remained silent.
He tried calling Samuel Price again.
There was no answer.
He called Gregory Shaw.
The call went directly to voicemail.
RICHARD LAWSON: "Gregory, call me as soon as you receive this. We have a serious problem."
He ended the call.
Then he opened his messages and sent another.
RICHARD LAWSON: "Have you moved the original file?"
Several seconds passed.
No reply.
Richard stood and walked toward the window.
The security officer watched him.
SECURITY OFFICER: "Sir, please remain in the designated area."
RICHARD LAWSON: "I'm not going anywhere."
SECURITY OFFICER: "Then please remain here."
Richard ignored him and looked down at his phone again.
A new message appeared.
It was from Gregory Shaw.
GREGORY SHAW: "The archive is no longer accessible. Price was supposed to handle it."
Richard's expression changed.
RICHARD LAWSON: "What do you mean, no longer accessible?"
GREGORY SHAW: "They have restricted the system."
RICHARD LAWSON: "Did you move the original report?"
GREGORY SHAW: "No. I thought Price had it."
Richard closed his eyes briefly.
RICHARD LAWSON: "Where is Mitchell?"
GREGORY SHAW: "I don't know. He hasn't answered."
Richard stared at the message.
Then he typed another.
RICHARD LAWSON: "Do not contact anyone else. Wait for my call."
He put the phone away.
For the first time, Richard understood that the situation might be moving beyond his ability to control.
He had believed that the people involved would protect one another.
He had believed that the revised report would pass through the administrative process without attracting attention.
And he had believed that Evelyn Carter could be pressured into silence.
Now all three assumptions were beginning to collapse.
Back at the regional office, the technical team had recovered the original laboratory report.
The document was complete.
It contained the full test results, the failed communication trials, and the recommendations that had led the review committee to reject the equipment.
More importantly, it included a detailed note written by the lead testing engineer.
The note stated that the equipment had not passed the required reliability assessment and that any claim suggesting otherwise would be inaccurate.
Evelyn read the document from beginning to end.
EVELYN CARTER: "This is the report we needed."