RICHARD COLE: "I can arrange for those to be provided."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Not later. Now."
Cole glanced at Mitchell.
RICHARD COLE: "General, I believe there may be a misunderstanding. The footage request was not necessarily connected to the confrontation."
VICTORIA HAYES: "That is precisely why the logs must be preserved. We cannot determine whether two events are connected by ignoring one of them."
Mitchell nodded.
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "Provide the logs to the security team. Include every access attempt made before and after the incident."
Cole slowly closed his folder.
RICHARD COLE: "Very well."
He turned toward the door, but Victoria stopped him.
VICTORIA HAYES: "Mr. Cole."
He looked back.
VICTORIA HAYES: "Were you aware that Peter Lawson attended the ceremony?"
A brief silence followed.
RICHARD COLE: "Peter Lawson?"
VICTORIA HAYES: "Former technical evaluation officer. He was seated near Alexander Grant."
Cole's expression remained controlled, but his eyes moved briefly toward the folder in his hand.
RICHARD COLE: "I don't recall seeing him."
VICTORIA HAYES: "You manage the guest arrangements. You should have a record of who invited him."
RICHARD COLE: "There are hundreds of guests at an event of this size. I can't personally remember every name."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Then the guest list should answer the question."
RICHARD COLE: "I'll have my staff check."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Please do."
Cole left the room.
Mitchell watched the door close.
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "He was uncomfortable."
VICTORIA HAYES: "He knew the name."
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "You noticed it too?"
VICTORIA HAYES: "He didn't ask who Lawson was. He asked me to repeat the name, then immediately said he didn't remember seeing him."
Mitchell folded his arms.
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "We need to know who invited him."
VICTORIA HAYES: "And who approved his access."
The security commander approached with a new report on his screen.
SECURITY COMMANDER: "General, we have something from the camera system."
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "What is it?"
SECURITY COMMANDER: "The attempted export wasn't the only unusual activity. There were three login attempts against the archive server within fifteen minutes of the incident. Two were rejected. The third accessed the event directory but did not complete a download."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Which account?"
SECURITY COMMANDER: "An account registered to the event administration department."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Was it the same account that attempted the export?"
SECURITY COMMANDER: "Yes, ma'am."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Can you identify the device?"
SECURITY COMMANDER: "The request came from a workstation inside the administration office. We are checking the local access records to identify the user."
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "Secure the workstation."
SECURITY COMMANDER: "Already done, sir."
VICTORIA HAYES: "Do not let anyone restart it, clear the history, or access the account until the forensic team arrives."
SECURITY COMMANDER: "Understood."
The pattern was becoming harder to dismiss. Someone had tried to obtain the stage footage after Alexander's confrontation. Someone had also accessed the archive directory. And now the event administration director appeared reluctant to answer basic questions about a former technical officer who had been sitting beside Grant.
Victoria moved toward the table and opened the procurement review documents stored on her secure tablet.
She found the original equipment assessment number and began comparing it with the revised report. The first document contained a detailed list of failures observed during field simulations. The revised document contained a much more favorable conclusion, but several technical references had been shortened or removed.
She scrolled to the approval section.
The first report listed a technical review team, a testing supervisor, and an independent validation officer. The revised version listed only the procurement authorization committee.
One signature appeared beneath the final approval.
Colonel Stephen Ward.
Victoria stared at the name.
Stephen Ward had served as deputy director of procurement oversight. He had been responsible for reviewing major equipment purchases and ensuring that technical assessments were properly documented before contracts advanced to final approval.
He was also one of the senior officers who had recommended that the communications system supplied by Grant Defense Solutions receive expedited consideration.
VICTORIA HAYES: "General, do you remember Colonel Stephen Ward?"
Mitchell leaned over the tablet.
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "Of course. He was part of the procurement oversight office."
VICTORIA HAYES: "His signature is on the revised technical report."
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "Was he responsible for the original evaluation?"
VICTORIA HAYES: "No. But he approved the final assessment after the original testing supervisor resigned."
Mitchell read the document carefully.
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "Why wasn't this raised during the review?"
VICTORIA HAYES: "It was. I requested clarification on the change in technical findings. The response said the equipment had undergone additional testing and met the required standards."
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "Did you receive the additional testing records?"
VICTORIA HAYES: "No. I received a summary."
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "A summary is not enough."
VICTORIA HAYES: "That was my position. I refused to approve the deployment until the raw data was provided."
Mitchell looked up.
GENERAL ROBERT MITCHELL: "And that was when Grant began contacting you?"