PETER WALLACE: "I believe so."
EVELYN CARTER: "Would you be willing to provide it to the review team?"
Peter hesitated.
PETER WALLACE: "I can check."
EVELYN CARTER: "You should not access or remove anything you are not authorized to handle. If you have a copy in your possession, contact the appropriate office and arrange a proper submission."
PETER WALLACE: "Understood."
The interview continued for another twenty minutes.
Peter described the earlier technical failures, the communication between suppliers, and the pressure his company had allegedly experienced after raising concerns.
He did not have proof that Richard had personally ordered anyone to change a report.
But his account raised questions that could no longer be ignored.
When the interview ended, Daniel accompanied him out.
Evelyn remained seated, reviewing her notes.
The confrontation had started with a man grabbing her arm.
Now the investigation was beginning to uncover a trail of decisions that appeared to have been made long before that afternoon.
Her phone vibrated.
An incoming message appeared from an unfamiliar number.
"YOU SHOULD STOP ASKING ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT FILES. THIS IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK."
Evelyn read it twice.
She did not respond.
Instead, she took a screenshot, recorded the time, and forwarded the message through the appropriate security reporting channel.
A second message arrived.
"THE PEOPLE WHO SIGNED THE REVISED REPORT ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES INVOLVED."
Evelyn's expression became serious.
She stood and walked toward Daniel, who had just returned to the room.
EVELYN CARTER: "Captain, I need you to look at something."
Daniel read the messages.
DANIEL REEVES: "Do you recognize the number?"
EVELYN CARTER: "No."
DANIEL REEVES: "Could it be Lawson?"
EVELYN CARTER: "We shouldn't assume that."
DANIEL REEVES: "Should I report it?"
EVELYN CARTER: "I already forwarded it. Preserve the original message and don't contact the sender."
Daniel looked at the screen again.
DANIEL REEVES: "This is getting serious."
EVELYN CARTER: "It was serious before the messages arrived."
Daniel handed the phone back.
DANIEL REEVES: "What do you think they mean by the people who signed the report?"
EVELYN CARTER: "I think someone knows more about the revised assessment than we do."
DANIEL REEVES: "And they don't want us looking."
EVELYN CARTER: "Exactly."
The general entered the room moments later.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Colonel, we have a development."
Evelyn turned.
EVELYN CARTER: "What happened?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Deputy Director Price has requested that the procurement review be transferred to his office."
EVELYN CARTER: "On what grounds?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "He says the matter requires administrative oversight."
EVELYN CARTER: "The incident investigation or the contract review?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Both."
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
Then she turned back toward the general.
EVELYN CARTER: "Sir, those are separate matters. The incident should be handled by the security and legal offices. The procurement review should remain independent."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "I agree."
EVELYN CARTER: "Has the transfer been approved?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Not yet."
Evelyn took a breath.
EVELYN CARTER: "Then I recommend that the request itself be preserved and reviewed. Given what happened today, moving both matters into the same office could create a conflict of interest."
The general nodded.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "That is precisely what I told him."
He placed another document on the table.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "But there is something else. The regional office has reported that one of the original technical assessment files is missing."
Daniel frowned.
DANIEL REEVES: "Missing?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "The original laboratory report. The one documenting the communication failures."
Evelyn stared at the document.
EVELYN CARTER: "When was it last accessed?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "According to the administrative log, yesterday afternoon."
EVELYN CARTER: "Who accessed it?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "The account belongs to the regional procurement office."
Evelyn looked at the general.
EVELYN CARTER: "Do we know who was using the account?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Not yet."
DANIEL REEVES: "Could someone have removed the report?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "The file is no longer available in the main directory."
EVELYN CARTER: "That doesn't mean it has been destroyed."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "No. But it means we need to find it."
Evelyn returned to the table and examined the access record.
The file had been opened at 4:17 p.m.
It had been downloaded at 4:23 p.m.
At 4:31 p.m., a second administrative account had accessed the same directory.
At 4:36 p.m., the original file disappeared from the main system.
Evelyn pointed to the final entry.
EVELYN CARTER: "Who owns this account?"
The general leaned closer.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Samuel Price's administrative office."
Daniel looked up.
DANIEL REEVES: "The same office that requested control of the investigation?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Yes."
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Evelyn studied the timeline again.
She thought about Richard's conversation with his attorney.
She remembered his phone call.
The revised approval documents.
The regional office.
And the anonymous warning that had arrived only minutes earlier.
The pieces were beginning to form a pattern, but the evidence was not yet complete.
EVELYN CARTER: "We need the backup records."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "I've already requested them."
EVELYN CARTER: "And the access history from the previous month."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "That may take time."
EVELYN CARTER: "Then we should start now."
The general looked toward Daniel.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Captain, coordinate with the technical team. I want a full preservation notice sent to the regional office."
DANIEL REEVES: "Yes, sir."
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "No one is to delete, move, or modify any procurement record until the review is complete."
DANIEL REEVES: "Understood."
Evelyn remained beside the table as Daniel left.
The general lowered his voice.
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "Colonel, I need to ask you something."
EVELYN CARTER: "Yes, sir?"
GENERAL MICHAEL HARRINGTON: "If this becomes a larger investigation, are you prepared for the possibility that people you know may be involved?"