Marcus moved forward, but Major Price raised one hand to maintain the security perimeter.
MAJOR PRICE: "Hold position until we clear the corridor."
Foster nodded.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "It's all right. I'm not here to hurt anyone."
Marcus looked at the injury on Foster's head.
MARCUS REED: "What happened to you?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "The tunnel collapsed. I survived the first blast, but they found me before I reached the extraction point."
MARCUS REED: "Why didn't you contact us?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "I tried. Every transmission was intercepted."
DAVID BROOKS: "Where is Noah Reeves?"
Foster looked toward the lower corridor.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "He's in the archive room."
Marcus felt a wave of relief.
MARCUS REED: "He's alive?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "Yes."
Brooks stepped closer.
DAVID BROOKS: "We need to secure him and recover the original records."
Foster shook his head.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "You need to understand something first. The second archive contains the full authorization chain. But it also contains evidence of people who are still operating inside the command network."
DAVID BROOKS: "Who?"
Foster looked at Colonel Vance.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "He knows."
Vance's face hardened.
COLONEL VANCE: "Daniel, you should not be here."
SERGEANT FOSTER: "I should have been here two years ago."
COLONEL VANCE: "You were given an opportunity to walk away."
SERGEANT FOSTER: "You gave me an opportunity to disappear."
COLONEL VANCE: "You should have accepted it."
Foster stepped beside Marcus.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "The second archive contains every order, every transfer, and every name connected to the operation."
DAVID BROOKS: "Can you access it?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "Yes. But the system needs a second witness confirmation."
MARCUS REED: "The glove."
Foster nodded.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "The glove contains the field authentication key. You and I must confirm the original mission before the archive can release the complete record."
The technician approached the console.
TECHNICIAN: "I can attempt the verification."
Foster looked toward him.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "Do it before the purge begins."
The technician entered the first sequence.
The display remained red.
He entered the second sequence.
A green indicator appeared.
The system requested a witness confirmation.
Foster placed his hand against the scanner.
The system rejected his identification.
TECHNICIAN: "Your personnel status is still listed as missing."
SERGEANT FOSTER: "That is why the glove is needed."
Marcus placed the damaged glove against the scanner.
The system recognized the sequence.
A new message appeared.
FIELD WITNESS: CAPTAIN MARCUS REED.
SECONDARY WITNESS: SERGEANT DANIEL FOSTER.
ORIGINAL OPERATIVE: NOAH REEVES.
AUTHORIZATION RECORD READY.
The technician pressed the confirmation key.
The display changed.
A countdown appeared.
ARCHIVE PURGE IN PROGRESS.
THIRTY SECONDS.
MAJOR PRICE: "How do we stop it?"
TECHNICIAN: "We need to reach the central console."
Foster pointed toward the door behind Vance.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "Through there."
Major Price signaled two soldiers to move forward.
Vance suddenly looked toward the wall.
COLONEL VANCE: "You cannot stop it."
DAVID BROOKS: "We are not leaving."
COLONEL VANCE: "You do not understand what happens if the archive is released."
DAVID BROOKS: "Then explain it."
Vance said nothing.
The countdown continued.
TWENTY SECONDS.
The technician entered another command.
The system rejected it.
TECHNICIAN: "The purge is connected to an external command authority."
DAVID BROOKS: "Can you isolate the connection?"
TECHNICIAN: "I need the original authorization sequence."
Foster looked at Marcus.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "The final code is still in the glove."
Marcus examined the inner lining.
A small sequence was engraved near the edge, almost hidden beneath a strip of burned fabric.
He showed it to the technician.
TECHNICIAN: "That is the final witness code."
The technician entered the sequence.
The system requested one last confirmation.
Marcus looked at Foster.
MARCUS REED: "Ready?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "I've been waiting two years."
Marcus pressed the confirmation key.
The display went black.
For a moment, everyone believed the archive had been destroyed.
Then the screen returned.
PURGE SEQUENCE ABORTED.
ORIGINAL COMMAND RECORD RESTORED.
A long list of names appeared.
The first authorization belonged to Colonel Thomas Vance.
The second belonged to General Robert Hayes.
The third belonged to a senior intelligence official.
The technician enlarged the final record.
A name appeared at the top of the screen.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR RICHARD ROWE.
David Brooks stared at it.
DAVID BROOKS: "Richard Rowe."
Marcus looked toward him.
MARCUS REED: "Who is he?"
DAVID BROOKS: "The Deputy Director of National Military Intelligence."
Foster nodded.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "He was the final approval authority."
Brooks examined the record.
DAVID BROOKS: "He authorized the original operation?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "He authorized the facility, the personnel transfers, and the removal of the first team from the official record."