CHAPTER 19 — THE SUSPENDED DIRECTOR
James's official credentials were suspended at 2:03 p.m.
His access to federal databases was revoked.
His office was sealed.
A security team escorted him out of the building.
Marcus walked beside him.
“This is unbelievable.”
James remained calm.
“It's predictable.”
“They're making it look like you're the problem.”
“They need to.”
James handed Marcus a small encrypted device.
“Keep the evidence copies outside the official network.”
Marcus accepted it.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Find out who Grant reports to.”
Marcus looked confused.
“You think there's someone above him?”
“I think people like Grant rarely operate without protection.”
Outside, reporters gathered near the entrance.
Questions were shouted from every direction.
“Director Carter! Did you fabricate the investigation?”
“Are you being investigated for misconduct?”
“Did you knowingly violate federal procedure?”
James stopped.
He turned toward the cameras.
“I have one statement.”
The reporters quieted.
“An investigation is not a crime. Asking questions is not misconduct. And protecting the truth is not an act of disloyalty.”
He looked directly into the nearest camera.
“Every document we recovered will eventually speak for itself.”
Then he walked away.
That evening, Marcus received an anonymous package.
Inside was a printed photograph of James leaving the federal building.
On the back were six words:
YOU HAVE FORTY-EIGHT HOURS TO DISAPPEAR.
CHAPTER 20 — THE ORIGINAL LEDGER
The old state records warehouse was scheduled for demolition.
James, Marcus, and Captain Mitchell arrived with a federal preservation team.
They found the building nearly empty.
Dust covered the floors.
Old filing cabinets stood against the walls.
In the basement, Marcus discovered a locked metal room.
The door had no official label.
Hayes, who had joined them under federal protection, recognized the locking mechanism.
“Rourke installed that.”
A technician opened the door.
Inside were shelves of boxes, hard drives, and sealed envelopes.
At the center stood a steel cabinet.
James opened it.
The original ledger was inside.
Unlike the other records, this book contained handwritten entries and original signatures.
Marcus turned the pages.
Payments.
Dates.
Account numbers.
Names.
Dozens of names.
Then he stopped.
“Director.”
James approached.
Marcus pointed to the final page.
It contained a list of people who had received money in exchange for suppressing investigations.
At the top was Nathaniel Grant.
Below him were state officials, district commanders, private contractors, and senior administrators.
But the final entry was different.
It was a payment made only three weeks earlier.
The recipient's name was:
JAMES CARTER.
James stared at it.
“What?”
Hayes stepped closer.
“That's impossible.”
Marcus checked the entry again.
The amount was one million dollars.
The payment description read:
FEDERAL INVESTIGATION CLOSURE — FINAL AUTHORIZATION.
James looked at the date.
Three weeks earlier.
The same week he had been assigned to reopen the District Seven investigation.
Someone had forged his name.
Or someone had access to his identity.
Then Marcus found a second document.
It was a signed authorization.
The signature looked exactly like James's.
But James had never signed it.
He slowly looked at Marcus.
“They're not just trying to stop this investigation.”
Marcus understood.
“They're building a case against you.”