DAVID BROOKS: "And General Hayes?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "He approved the operational orders. Vance carried them out."
Marcus looked toward the screen.
MARCUS REED: "So Hayes knew."
Foster nodded.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "He knew enough to help bury the truth."
The technician opened the next document.
It contained a detailed record of the civilian transfers.
Forty-two people had originally been held at the facility.
Some had been moved to other locations.
Others had been transferred through private contractors.
Several records showed that the people had been classified as unidentified foreign personnel, even though the original files identified them as civilians.
Marcus felt his jaw tighten.
MARCUS REED: "They were never prisoners in a military operation. They were people who had been taken from their homes."
Foster looked at him.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "That's why the records were hidden."
Brooks continued examining the archive.
DAVID BROOKS: "There are more names."
The screen displayed a list of military officers, intelligence administrators, and private security contractors.
Several names were connected to the original mission.
Others had approved the transfers.
A number of senior officials had signed documents that falsely declared the facility inactive.
Then the system opened a final authorization record.
It contained the digital signature of Richard Rowe.
The document showed that Rowe had personally ordered the extraction cancellation during Marcus's mission.
He had also authorized the suspension of the second extraction team.
And after the operation, he had approved the report that blamed Marcus for the failure.
DAVID BROOKS: "This is enough to establish direct involvement."
COLONEL VANCE: "You are making a mistake."
Brooks turned toward him.
DAVID BROOKS: "The evidence is clear."
COLONEL VANCE: "You do not understand the wider operation."
DAVID BROOKS: "Then tell me what you were protecting."
Vance looked toward the display.
COLONEL VANCE: "The facility was being used to hold individuals connected to a classified intelligence investigation. Some of them possessed information that could expose several covert operations."
MARCUS REED: "So you detained civilians to protect classified operations?"
COLONEL VANCE: "I did not design the system."
MARCUS REED: "But you operated it."
Vance lowered his eyes.
COLONEL VANCE: "I followed the authorization."
MARCUS REED: "You followed it when it meant abandoning wounded soldiers. You followed it when it meant leaving civilians behind. And you followed it when it meant declaring missing men dead."
Vance said nothing.
Marcus stepped closer.
MARCUS REED: "You had a choice."
COLONEL VANCE: "You think I had control over the entire operation?"
MARCUS REED: "You had control over the decision to cancel our extraction."
Vance looked away.
The technician continued examining the archive.
Then another record appeared.
It showed the status of the first Silent Horizon team.
Several names were marked deceased.
But the records contained no death certificates, no recovered remains, and no confirmed casualty reports.
Instead, several personnel had been transferred to restricted facilities.
Marcus looked toward Foster.
MARCUS REED: "Some of them could still be alive."
Foster nodded.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "That's what we believed."
DAVID BROOKS: "How many?"
SERGEANT FOSTER: "We do not know. The archive contains transfer records, but some locations are missing."
Brooks turned toward the technician.
DAVID BROOKS: "Can we identify the destinations?"
TECHNICIAN: "Some of them. The records are incomplete."
DAVID BROOKS: "Recover everything."
The technician continued searching.
A new location appeared.
It was a separate facility several miles away.
The status was marked active.
The personnel list showed thirty-one civilians and several unidentified military personnel.
Marcus looked at the screen.
MARCUS REED: "That's where the others were transferred."
Foster nodded.
SERGEANT FOSTER: "We found the reference before the communications were cut."
DAVID BROOKS: "Then we will send a recovery team."
MAJOR PRICE: "My team can secure the location."
Brooks nodded.
DAVID BROOKS: "Prepare the second operation. Use independent communications and preserve every record."
Major Price moved toward the corridor.
But before the team could leave, the main display changed.
A new incoming message appeared.
The system showed an external connection.
The sender was identified as RICHARD ROWE.
Brooks stepped toward the screen.
DAVID BROOKS: "Accept the connection."
The technician hesitated.
TECHNICIAN: "Sir, the connection is not authenticated."
DAVID BROOKS: "Accept it."
The screen flickered.
A man's face appeared.
He was in his early sixties, with silver hair, a formal suit, and a calm expression.
Richard Rowe.
The Deputy Director of National Military Intelligence.
He looked directly into the camera.
RICHARD ROWE: "Mr. Secretary."
Brooks stood straight.
DAVID BROOKS: "Deputy Director Rowe."
Rowe's eyes moved toward the background.
He noticed Marcus.