MICHAEL HARRIS: "Neither will you, General."
Cross fell silent.
Harris turned toward the security officer.
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Secure the original tribunal records. Preserve every document and communication displayed here. I want a separate investigative team that does not report through the command structure involved in Silent Horizon."
SECURITY OFFICER: "Yes, Mr. Secretary."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "And contact the independent special operations unit. Tell them I want a recovery team prepared immediately."
The officer moved away.
Emily looked back at the display.
The image of Foster had disappeared, replaced by a blank security window.
She held the glove tightly.
The first time she had seen the hidden code, she had thought it was simply proof of a secret that someone wanted buried.
Now she understood that it was also a way to reach the people who had survived.
A few minutes later, the Secretary received a secure communication.
He listened without speaking, then looked toward Emily.
MICHAEL HARRIS: "The recovery team is ready. They can reach the outer perimeter within two hours."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "I need to be there."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "You will accompany the team as an intelligence witness, not as its commander."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Understood."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "And Captain, if we discover that the facility is still being used, you will follow the team's instructions. We are not repeating what happened during the first mission."
Emily nodded.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "The difference is that this time we know someone is waiting for us."
Harris looked at the generals.
MICHAEL HARRIS: "And this time, we will not allow the evidence to disappear."
The tribunal chamber was cleared.
The three senior officers were escorted to separate rooms for questioning. General Sterling protested repeatedly, insisting that the Secretary had no right to suspend his access without a formal review. General Cross demanded to speak with the military command authority. Mercer said almost nothing.
Emily noticed that Mercer kept looking toward the door.
He appeared afraid.
Not of being arrested.
Of someone finding out what he had done.
Before leaving, Emily approached him.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "General Mercer."
He looked up.
GENERAL MERCER: "What?"
EMILY HARRINGTON: "You were involved in the original mission review."
GENERAL MERCER: "I already answered your questions."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "You said you reviewed the documents. You never said you approved the extraction changes."
Mercer looked toward the guards.
GENERAL MERCER: "This is not the time."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Then when is it?"
He lowered his voice.
GENERAL MERCER: "You do not understand the people you are dealing with."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Then help me understand."
Mercer glanced toward the corridor.
GENERAL MERCER: "Some orders were issued because the operation had become more dangerous than anyone anticipated."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Who issued them?"
GENERAL MERCER: "I cannot tell you here."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "You had a chance to tell the truth in the hearing."
GENERAL MERCER: "You think telling the truth is always enough?"
Emily studied his face.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "It would have been enough for the people we left behind."
Mercer looked down.
GENERAL MERCER: "There were people above us who had already decided what would happen to that facility."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Who?"
Before he could answer, a guard stepped between them.
SECURITY OFFICER: "Captain, we need to move."
Emily stepped away.
She had heard enough to know that Mercer was hiding something.
But she had not yet heard enough to know whether he was protecting himself or trying to help.
The recovery team departed shortly afterward.
Emily traveled with Michael Harris and a small group of independent military investigators. The Secretary had ordered the team to avoid the original command network and use a separate encrypted communication system.
The journey took them through a remote stretch of mountainous terrain.
As the vehicle moved closer to the facility, Emily recognized the landscape from the original mission.
The same narrow roads.
The same rocky slopes.
The same abandoned checkpoints.
The memories returned with uncomfortable clarity.
She remembered the sound of gunfire bouncing between the mountains.
She remembered the civilians moving through the dark tunnel.
She remembered Foster pushing her toward the exit.
And she remembered the moment the extraction order had been canceled.
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Captain, how far are we from the original route?"
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Less than two miles."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Does the facility have another access point?"
EMILY HARRINGTON: "There was a maintenance entrance on the eastern side. It was not included in our briefing, but I saw it while we were moving toward the lower tunnel."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Could it still be operational?"
EMILY HARRINGTON: "If the facility is active, probably."
The lead vehicle slowed.
A member of the recovery team raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
TEAM LEADER: "We have movement near the outer perimeter."
The vehicles came to a halt.
Emily looked through the window.
A security camera was mounted above the entrance road.
Its lens turned slowly toward them.
Then it stopped.
A red light appeared.
TEAM LEADER: "They know we're here."