Brooks slowly raised his eyes.
DAVID BROOKS: "You are wrong, General."
He held the glove slightly higher.
DAVID BROOKS: "It may be the most important piece of evidence in this entire hearing."
The technicians near the wall began exchanging looks.
Brooks walked toward the central security console built into the tribunal chamber.
The military official stepped aside.
DAVID BROOKS: "Prepare the classified verification system."
TECHNICIAN: "Sir, that system requires senior authorization."
DAVID BROOKS: "You have mine."
The technician activated the terminal.
A dark-blue military interface appeared across the main display. A glowing eagle insignia formed in the center of the screen.
Brooks studied the code once more.
DAVID BROOKS: "Enter the sequence."
The technician began typing.
Marcus watched the screen.
General Hayes remained standing.
Cross looked toward the chamber doors.
Mercer had gone completely silent.
The system processed the first sequence.
A red indicator appeared.
Then another.
The technician stopped typing.
TECHNICIAN: "Sir, the system recognizes the format."
DAVID BROOKS: "Continue."
The technician entered the remaining characters.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then every monitor in the chamber flickered.
The overhead lights dimmed slightly.
A red symbol appeared across the main display.
The technicians froze.
One of them stepped back from the console.
TECHNICIAN: "Mr. Secretary..."
Brooks stared at the screen.
DAVID BROOKS: "What is it?"
TECHNICIAN: "The system has detected a restricted authorization record."
The display changed.
A line of text appeared.
Then another.
Marcus looked at the screen.
He had carried the code for days without knowing what it would unlock.
Now he was finally about to discover why Sergeant Reeves had trusted him with it.
The first message appeared.
MISSION STATUS: UNDER REVIEW.
A second line followed.
ORIGINAL COMMAND AUTHORIZATION: VERIFIED.
The technician looked toward Brooks.
TECHNICIAN: "Sir, the system is opening an archived incident record."
Brooks did not respond.
He continued watching the screen.
The generals were no longer speaking.
Then the display went dark for a brief moment.
A new message began appearing, one letter at a time.
Marcus felt his hands tighten around the ruined glove.
He knew that whatever appeared next would change the meaning of everything that had happened during Operation Silent Horizon.
And for the first time since entering the tribunal, he saw uncertainty on the faces of the men who had already decided he was guilty.
The message continued loading.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
The screen was almost ready to reveal the truth.
The message finally appeared across the military display.
MISSION INTEGRITY COMPROMISED.
AUTHORIZED COMMAND CHANNEL BREACHED.
INTERNAL BETRAYAL DETECTED.
For several seconds, nobody inside the tribunal chamber moved.
Marcus Reed stared at the screen.
The words were not a general security warning. They were the result of an encrypted verification process, one that had recognized the code hidden inside his damaged glove.
David Brooks stepped closer to the display.
DAVID BROOKS: "Show me the original incident record."
The technician entered another command.
A series of encrypted files appeared, each marked with a different authorization level. The first contained the original deployment instructions for Operation Silent Horizon. The second contained the extraction schedule. The third contained a list of personnel assigned to the mission.
Marcus recognized the names.
His own appeared near the top.
Beneath it were the names of the soldiers who had entered the facility with him.
Some were marked as missing.
Others were listed as deceased.
A few had no status at all.
MARCUS REED: "Those are my people."
DAVID BROOKS: "Do you recognize the records?"
MARCUS REED: "Every name. I know every soldier who went into that facility."
The technician opened the original extraction order.
A timestamp appeared beside the document.
It showed that the extraction plan had been approved two days before the mission.
A second record appeared beneath it.
The support unit had been withdrawn thirty-six hours before deployment.
Marcus leaned forward.
MARCUS REED: "That's the second team."
DAVID BROOKS: "You were told there was no second team?"
MARCUS REED: "I asked about it during the briefing. My commander told me the reference was an administrative error."
The technician enlarged the document.
TECHNICIAN: "The second unit was assigned to the western extraction point. Its deployment was canceled before the primary team entered the operational area."
DAVID BROOKS: "Who authorized the cancellation?"
The technician opened the authorization field.
A restricted command identifier appeared.
GENERAL HAYES: "This information requires additional verification."
Brooks turned toward him.
DAVID BROOKS: "That is what we are doing."