Reeves quietly stepped outside to give her privacy.
Mercer waited.
Finally, Eleanor wiped her eyes.
"How did you survive?"
"Someone warned me not to return to the extraction point. I left before the attack."
"Who warned you?"
Mercer hesitated.
"An officer who later disappeared."
"Name?"
"Captain Samuel Porter."
Eleanor recognized the name.
Porter had been part of the intelligence support team.
He had been declared missing shortly after the operation.
Mercer nodded.
"He discovered the second authorization."
Before Eleanor could ask more, a loud noise came from outside.
Reeves shouted.
"Move!"
The lights went out.
A vehicle engine roared near the lighthouse.
Eleanor grabbed the metal box and moved toward the back entrance.
Mercer stumbled behind her.
A figure appeared at the doorway.
"Stop!"
Reeves moved to block the entrance.
A struggle followed.
Eleanor pulled Mercer behind a concrete support wall.
Seconds later, the figure escaped through the side door.
Reeves returned, breathing heavily.
"Are you both okay?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Who was it?"
"I didn't get a clear look."
He checked the room.
The damaged storage device was still there.
But the folder containing the original payment records had disappeared.
Mercer stared at the empty table.
"They know."
Eleanor looked at him.
"Who?"
"The people behind this."
She took out her phone and called Whitmore.
"General, we have confirmation. Hayes, Cole, and Blackstone were involved. There's another officer above them."
"Who?"
"General Arthur Caldwell."
The line went silent.
Then Whitmore answered.
"Do not return to Fort Redstone yet."
"Why?"
"Because Caldwell has just contacted headquarters."
"What did he say?"
The general's voice became unusually cold.
"He requested that I be removed from the investigation."
Eleanor looked at Reeves.
Whitmore continued.
"And he has issued an order to arrest you for unauthorized possession of classified military information."
Eleanor slowly lowered the phone.
The people who had murdered James were no longer hiding.
They were using the military itself to silence her.
And now she was the target.
The order to arrest Eleanor Blake arrived at Fort Redstone at 2100 hours.
It was signed by a senior military authority and classified as an urgent security directive.
The accusation was serious.
Unauthorized possession of classified information.
Interference with a military investigation.
Potential disclosure of national security material.
Within minutes, military police began searching for her.
But Eleanor was no longer at the lighthouse.
General Whitmore had arranged a secure meeting at a neutral military facility.
Captain Reeves brought Mercer there shortly before midnight.
Whitmore was waiting inside a conference room.
He looked exhausted.
"I've spoken to the legal command," he said. "The arrest order is being reviewed."
Eleanor placed the metal box on the table.
"General Caldwell issued it."
"I know."
"Then why are we still treating him like he's untouchable?"
Whitmore looked at her.
"Because accusations are not evidence. We need something that can stand in a formal investigation."
Mercer opened the box.
"Then perhaps this will help."
He removed the original payment records.
The documents contained bank transfers, contract numbers, and authorization codes.
One file showed that Blackstone Defense had paid more than six million dollars through several shell companies.
Another showed the dates of payments made to accounts associated with Colonel Hayes and Major Cole.
But the most important document was a communication transcript.
It contained a message from General Caldwell.
The archive must not leave the extraction zone. Ensure the operation is completed without witnesses.
Eleanor stared at the screen.
"That's enough."
Whitmore shook his head.
"It's important evidence. But we need to authenticate the source."
Mercer nodded.
"I can tell you where the original servers are located."
"Where?"
"Inside a private data center operated by Blackstone Defense."
Reeves frowned.
"That's a civilian facility."
"Yes," Mercer replied. "But the servers contain copies of the original military communications."
Whitmore considered the information.
"We'll need a legal authorization."
Eleanor looked at him.
"How long?"
"At least several hours."
"Then we should move quickly."
The general shook his head.
"No. We will do this correctly."
He picked up the phone and contacted an independent military oversight office.
He requested an emergency review of the arrest order and the alleged intelligence violations.
The official on the other end listened carefully.
Then asked for the evidence.
Whitmore sent the documents.
An hour later, a response arrived.
The arrest order had been temporarily suspended.
The case would be transferred to an independent investigative authority.
For the first time in three years, the people behind Silent Harbor were facing an investigation they could not easily control.
But General Caldwell was not finished.
At 0300 hours, a message appeared on Whitmore's secure terminal.
It contained a photograph of Eleanor leaving the facility.
Underneath it were seven words.
YOU HAVE ONE CHANCE TO WALK AWAY.
Whitmore closed the message.
"He's desperate."
Eleanor looked at him.
"Desperate people make mistakes."
The following morning, the independent investigation team arrived.
They interviewed Mercer first.
Then Reeves.
Then Eleanor.
Her statement lasted nearly four hours.
She described the mission, the changed coordinates, James's final moments, and the years she had spent trying to understand what had happened.
At the end, the investigator asked one final question.
"Lieutenant Blake, why did you return to Fort Redstone?"
Eleanor thought for a moment.
"Because I wanted to work somewhere I could help people without being reminded of the past."
"And now?"
"Now I want the truth."
The investigator nodded.
"Do you believe Colonel Hayes intentionally compromised the operation?"
"Yes."