For several seconds, he did not answer.
Then he spoke quietly.
MERCER: "Brigadier General Jonathan Vale."
Maya remained silent.
Mercer pushed the folder toward her.
MERCER: "He wanted the readiness figures finalized before the evaluation. He said the installation could not afford to report a major reduction in operational capability."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did he know the maintenance discrepancies were unresolved?"
Mercer hesitated again.
MERCER: "I believe he did."
MAYA BROOKS: "Belief is not evidence. What did he actually receive?"
Mercer opened the folder.
Inside were printed emails, meeting notes, and a preliminary readiness summary.
The summary listed several aircraft with unresolved maintenance issues.
At the bottom was a handwritten instruction.
Maya read it carefully.
The note referred to the need for the final report to reflect approved operational classifications.
It also directed the installation to coordinate any remaining discrepancies before submission.
The wording was ambiguous.
But another page contained a more specific instruction.
It stated that the unresolved maintenance items should not be allowed to reduce the final readiness percentage without command review.
Maya looked at Mercer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Who wrote this?"
MERCER: "General Vale's office."
MAYA BROOKS: "Was it approved by the general personally?"
Mercer nodded.
MERCER: "Yes."
Maya examined the signature.
She recognized the name.
Then she noticed a second document beneath it.
It contained the original readiness figures.
The numbers were significantly lower than those submitted to headquarters.
Maya looked up.
MAYA BROOKS: "Why were these figures changed?"
Mercer took a breath.
MERCER: "Because we were told the final report had to meet the target."
MAYA BROOKS: "Who made the decision to change the classifications?"
Mercer looked toward the sealed folder.
MERCER: "That's what I need to explain."
Before he could continue, the conference room door opened.
The executive officer entered with an urgent expression.
EXECUTIVE OFFICER: "Colonel, we have a security problem."
MAYA BROOKS: "What happened?"
EXECUTIVE OFFICER: "Someone attempted to access the digital evidence archive using a senior command credential."
Maya stood.
MAYA BROOKS: "Which credential?"
The executive officer looked at the report in his hand.
EXECUTIVE OFFICER: "Brigadier General Vale's."
Mercer went pale.
Maya looked from the executive officer to the documents on the table.
The general whose name appeared on the original readiness instructions was now connected to an attempted access of the investigation's evidence archive.
And the timing was impossible to ignore.
Maya turned toward the security officer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Secure the archive immediately. Preserve the session information and identify the person using the account."
SECURITY OFFICER: "Yes, Colonel."
Maya looked back at Mercer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Lieutenant Colonel, you were about to explain who ordered the classifications changed."
Mercer stared at the folder.
For the first time, his controlled expression disappeared.
MERCER: "Colonel, if I tell you everything, this investigation will reach people far above this installation."
Maya held his gaze.
MAYA BROOKS: "Then tell the truth."
Mercer slowly opened the final section of the folder.
Inside was a document that had never appeared in the official maintenance system.
It contained a list of aircraft, the original unresolved discrepancies, and the revised classifications submitted for the readiness evaluation.
At the bottom was a handwritten approval.
But the signature was not Victor Hayes's.
It was not Major Calloway's.
And it was not Mercer's.
It belonged to Brigadier General Jonathan Vale.
Maya looked at the page.
Then she looked at Mercer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Is this the original approval?"
Mercer nodded.
MERCER: "Yes, Colonel."
Maya placed the document carefully on the table.
The investigation had finally reached the highest level of the reporting chain identified so far.
But one question remained.
Had General Vale knowingly approved false maintenance certifications?
Or had the officers beneath him manipulated the records and presented him with information that appeared legitimate?
Maya knew that the answer would determine the next stage of the investigation.
Before she could continue, the security officer's radio sounded.
He listened.
Then he turned toward her.
SECURITY OFFICER: "Colonel, the archive access attempt has been traced."
MAYA BROOKS: "To whom?"
The officer hesitated.
SECURITY OFFICER: "The workstation is inside the regional command administrative office."
Maya looked toward Mercer.
The lieutenant colonel closed his eyes.
MAYA BROOKS: "Who is currently using it?"
The officer checked the report.
SECURITY OFFICER: "We're still confirming the identity."
Maya looked at the original approval document.
The signature at the bottom was unmistakable.
The investigation had uncovered a chain of questionable decisions stretching from a maintenance sergeant to a regional command office.
And someone was still trying to access the evidence.
Maya closed the folder.
She knew the next interview would be the most important one yet.
Because the officer whose signature appeared on the final approval was no longer simply a name in the records.
He was now at the center of an active investigation.
And the truth about what happened inside Hangar Four was still waiting to be fully revealed.
The security officer's announcement brought an uneasy silence to the conference room.
Colonel Maya Brooks stood beside the table, studying the original approval document that Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mercer had just handed her.