MICHAEL HARRIS: "Continue to the designated staging point."
TEAM LEADER: "Understood."
The team moved forward.
The facility appeared gradually between the trees and rocky terrain.
From the outside, it looked abandoned.
The main gate was rusted.
The windows were dark.
The security lights were off.
But Emily noticed something that did not belong.
Fresh tire marks crossed the ground near the eastern entrance.
Someone had been using the facility recently.
She stepped out of the vehicle.
The air was cold, and the wind carried the faint smell of fuel.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "This place is not abandoned."
The team leader approached.
TEAM LEADER: "What makes you say that?"
EMILY HARRINGTON: "The tracks are recent. And that camera is powered."
The leader examined the perimeter.
TEAM LEADER: "We will secure the outer area first."
Emily looked toward the maintenance entrance.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "There is another way inside."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Show us."
She led them along the eastern wall.
Behind a line of damaged equipment was a narrow metal door, partially concealed by a concrete support structure.
The lock had been replaced recently.
The team leader examined it.
TEAM LEADER: "This door has been opened within the last twenty-four hours."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Can we enter?"
TEAM LEADER: "We can, but we need to assume the facility is occupied."
The team prepared to move.
Emily stayed behind the first group, keeping the damaged glove inside a protective evidence pouch.
The door opened with a low metallic sound.
Beyond it was a narrow corridor.
The walls were covered in dust, but fresh footprints crossed the floor.
The lights activated automatically as the team moved deeper into the building.
At the end of the corridor, a security panel displayed the same eagle insignia Emily had seen in the tribunal chamber.
The team leader stopped.
TEAM LEADER: "This is a restricted military system."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Can you access it?"
TEAM LEADER: "Not without authorization."
Emily looked at the panel.
The symbol beneath the eagle matched the markings on the glove.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "The code may work."
She removed the glove from the evidence pouch.
The technician accompanying the team examined the sequence.
TECHNICIAN: "I can attempt a local authentication."
He entered the first code.
The panel remained red.
Then he entered the second sequence.
A small green light appeared.
The door unlocked.
A message appeared on the display.
WELCOME, AUTHORIZED FIELD WITNESS.
Emily looked at the Secretary.
MICHAEL HARRIS: "It recognizes you."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "It recognizes the code."
The door opened.
Inside was a large operations room.
Several monitors lined the walls.
Most were dark, but a few displayed live camera feeds from different parts of the facility.
A long table stood in the center, covered with documents and old equipment.
On one screen, Emily saw the corridor from the earlier recording.
It was empty.
On another, she saw a room with a metal chair and a small medical cabinet.
Then she noticed a movement on the far-right monitor.
A man entered the frame.
His face was thinner than in the old photographs, but there was no mistaking him.
Noah Reeves.
Emily moved toward the screen.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "That's him."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Can you identify his location?"
The technician enlarged the feed.
TECHNICIAN: "Lower control room. Approximately two levels beneath us."
The team leader signaled two soldiers to check the stairs.
TEAM LEADER: "We will move carefully. No one goes ahead alone."
Emily nodded.
As they approached the lower level, the security system activated.
A red light began flashing.
Then a voice came through the corridor speakers.
UNKNOWN VOICE: "Unauthorized personnel detected."
The team stopped.
UNKNOWN VOICE: "Return to the entrance immediately."
Michael Harris stepped toward the nearest microphone.
MICHAEL HARRIS: "This is Secretary of Defense Michael Harris. Identify the facility administrator."
There was no response.
Then another message appeared.
FACILITY CONTROL TRANSFERRED.
A door at the end of the corridor opened.
A man stepped into view.
He was wearing a military uniform, but his identification badge had been removed.
He held no visible weapon.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
TEAM LEADER: "Stop where you are."
The man raised both hands.
UNKNOWN MAN: "I have been expecting you."
Emily stared at him.
She recognized his face from the mission records.
He was Colonel Thomas Vance, the officer who had been listed as the original supervisor of the first Silent Horizon operation.
But according to the official personnel archive, Vance had retired years earlier.
EMILY HARRINGTON: "Colonel Vance?"
The man looked at her.
COLONEL VANCE: "Captain Harrington. I see you kept the glove."
EMILY HARRINGTON: "You know what it contains."
COLONEL VANCE: "I know what it can unlock."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "Colonel Vance, you will explain why this facility is active and why classified military personnel are being held here."
Vance glanced at the Secretary.
COLONEL VANCE: "Mr. Secretary, I was hoping you would come alone."
MICHAEL HARRIS: "That was never going to happen."
COLONEL VANCE: "Then we have a problem."