MAYA BROOKS: "Did he approve the maintenance reports?"
DANIEL PRICE: "He reviewed the final readiness figures."
MAYA BROOKS: "Was he aware of the original discrepancies?"
Daniel hesitated.
DANIEL PRICE: "I don't know. But I saw him attend several meetings with Calloway and Hayes."
Maya looked at him.
MAYA BROOKS: "Which Hayes?"
DANIEL PRICE: "Victor Hayes."
Maya returned her attention to the screen.
The access session was still active.
Someone was attempting to retrieve the original readiness evaluation.
She instructed the administrator to preserve the session data and identify the workstation.
The administrator began tracing the connection.
A few seconds later, he found the location.
The account was being used from a terminal inside the installation's restricted archive.
Maya turned toward the security officer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Secure the archive entrance. Identify whoever is using that account."
SECURITY OFFICER: "Yes, Colonel."
MAYA BROOKS: "Do not allow any documents to be removed until the investigation team has recorded the current state of the room."
The officer left immediately.
Daniel looked concerned.
DANIEL PRICE: "Colonel, if Mercer is involved, this could reach much higher than Sergeant Hayes."
Maya nodded.
MAYA BROOKS: "Then we follow the evidence wherever it leads."
A few minutes later, the security team reached the restricted archive.
The entrance was secured by an electronic access panel.
Inside, a workstation was active.
A man wearing a dark military jacket stood beside the terminal.
He appeared startled when the security personnel entered.
SECURITY OFFICER: "Sir, please step away from the workstation."
The man turned.
He identified himself as Captain Ethan Ross, an administrative liaison assigned to assist with the transfer of records from Mercer's former office.
The security officer asked why he was using Mercer's account.
Ross explained that he had been instructed to retrieve several archived documents.
SECURITY OFFICER: "Who instructed you?"
CAPTAIN ETHAN ROSS: "Lieutenant Colonel Mercer."
SECURITY OFFICER: "When?"
ROSS: "This morning."
SECURITY OFFICER: "Did he provide written authorization?"
Ross hesitated.
ROSS: "No. He called me."
The officer asked him to step away from the terminal.
Ross complied.
The investigation team arrived several minutes later.
Maya entered the archive and examined the workstation.
The screen displayed the original readiness evaluation.
Several files had been opened.
One contained the final operational figures.
Another contained a list of maintenance discrepancies that had been excluded from the submitted report.
A third file contained the names of personnel who had raised concerns about the certification process.
Maya looked at Ross.
MAYA BROOKS: "Captain, why were you instructed to access these files?"
ROSS: "Lieutenant Colonel Mercer said the records needed to be reconciled before the administrative transfer was complete."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did he tell you to change or delete anything?"
ROSS: "No, Colonel."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did he ask you to identify the personnel who had submitted complaints?"
Ross looked uncomfortable.
ROSS: "He asked whether the inspection team had contacted any of them."
Maya remained silent.
ROSS: "I told him I didn't know."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did he explain why he wanted that information?"
ROSS: "He said it was necessary to understand the scope of the review."
Maya asked the investigation officer to preserve Ross's statement and the relevant access records.
She also requested that the system administrator compare the original readiness evaluation with the version submitted to headquarters.
The administrator opened both documents.
The differences appeared immediately.
The original version listed several unresolved maintenance issues.
The submitted version classified those issues as completed or deferred.
The number of aircraft reported as fully operational had increased.
And the changes had been approved shortly before the final evaluation.
Maya studied the approval history.
The final authorization had been entered using Mercer's account.
But the underlying maintenance certifications had been processed through Calloway's office.
Victor's department had supplied the original inspection records.
The three levels of the reporting chain were now connected.
Maya asked the administrator to identify whether the files had been modified after the final approval.
The administrator checked the history.
Several records had been reopened.
One had been changed two days after the evaluation was submitted.
Another had been accessed from Victor's workstation.
A third had been opened using Mercer's credentials.
Maya looked toward Daniel.
MAYA BROOKS: "This was not one isolated paperwork error."
Daniel nodded.
DANIEL PRICE: "No, Colonel."
Maya turned toward the investigation officer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Expand the review to every aircraft included in that readiness evaluation. I want the original technical findings compared with the final certification for each one."
INVESTIGATION OFFICER: "Understood."
MAYA BROOKS: "Also preserve the communications between Hayes, Calloway, and Mercer."
The officer acknowledged the instruction.
Maya then requested a formal interview with Lieutenant Colonel Mercer through headquarters.
She wanted to know whether he had personally authorized the changes.
She also wanted to understand why his account remained active after his transfer.
But before headquarters could respond, Daniel approached her with another piece of information.
DANIEL PRICE: "Colonel, I found the technician who worked on the original aircraft inspection."
MAYA BROOKS: "The one whose report was changed?"
DANIEL PRICE: "Yes."
MAYA BROOKS: "Where is he?"
DANIEL PRICE: "He's waiting outside. He says he has something important."