She stopped.
“Who is he?”
“We don't know.”
“That's impossible.”
“Normally, yes.”
Elena turned the page.
The man's face appeared again.
Different location.
Different clothing.
Same face.
“Three countries,” Hayes said.
“Four.”
Elena pointed to a photograph.
“That's Turkey.”
Hayes nodded.
“And this?”
“Romania.”
“This one?”
“Poland.”
Elena looked at the final image.
A blurry figure standing outside a restricted communications center.
“United States.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at Hayes.
“What happened?”
Hayes leaned against the table.
“Someone has been accessing a classified communications network.”
“Cyber?”
“Not entirely.”
“Human intelligence.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Eight weeks.”
“Casualties?”
“None.”
“Compromised operations?”
Hayes looked away.
“Three.”
Elena became very still.
“Which three?”
Hayes didn't answer.
She understood.
“Black Meridian.”
Hayes nodded.
“Nightglass.”
Another nod.
“And Hollow Crown.”
Silence.
Elena closed the folder.
Those operations had never appeared in ordinary military records.
They were compartmented even within the intelligence community.
Only a tiny number of people knew they existed.
If someone had accessed information about all three, there was only one conclusion.
The breach wasn't external.
Someone inside the system was providing information.
Hayes looked at her.
“We believe the source is here.”
“At Fort Raven?”
“Yes.”
“How many people have access?”
“Forty-three.”
“Too many.”
“We reduced it to nine.”
Elena looked at him.
“And now?”
“Four.”
She understood.
“Senior personnel?”
“Yes.”
“Command?”
“Yes.”
“Intelligence?”
“Yes.”
“Security?”
Hayes nodded.
“Then you called me because you don't trust your own command structure.”
Hayes looked directly at her.
“I don't trust anyone.”
Elena closed the folder.
“Good.”
Hayes raised an eyebrow.
“Good?”
“Trust is useful after verification.”
Hayes smiled faintly.
“That sounds like you.”
“I haven't changed.”
“No.”
He looked toward the window.
“That's why you're here.”
Elena walked to the table.
“What do you need?”
Hayes slid another file toward her.
“I need you to identify the leak.”
“Officially?”
“No.”
“Unofficially?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Forty-eight hours.”
Elena looked at him.
“You're giving me forty-eight hours to identify a traitor inside a military installation.”
“Yes.”
“And if I fail?”
Hayes was silent.
“Then headquarters takes over.”
Elena understood.
That would mean arrests.
Interrogations.
Suspensions.
A complete shutdown of the installation.
Possibly worse.
She opened the second file.
Four names.
Colonel David Hayes.
Major Adrian Cole.
Major Rebecca Lin.
Captain Mason Reed.
Elena stared at the list.
“Reed?”
Hayes nodded.
“You suspect him?”
“I suspect everyone.”
“Why?”
“Because he was assigned to communications security during the first breach.”
Elena closed the file.
“Who else?”
“Lin.”
“Why?”
“She requested access to Nightglass two days before the information was leaked.”
“Cole?”
“He was the last officer to review the Black Meridian files.”
“And you?”
Hayes smiled bitterly.
“I have access to everything.”
Elena looked at him.
“That makes you the easiest suspect.”
“I know.”
The room fell silent.
Then Elena asked:
“Why me?”
Hayes looked at her.
“You already know the answer.”
“No.”
“You were the last person to shut down a compromised network without firing a shot.”
“That was nine years ago.”
“You identified the mole.”
“Because he made mistakes.”
“He was a four-star general.”
Elena said nothing.
Hayes continued.
“And you were right.”
Elena closed the folder.
“I'll take the assignment.”
“Good.”
“There's one condition.”
“What?”
“I choose my own team.”
Hayes nodded.
“Approved.”
“I want full access.”
“Approved.”
“I want everyone monitored.”
“Approved.”
“Everyone?”
Hayes hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Everyone.”
Elena looked toward the door.
“What about Captain Reed?”
“Keep him.”
“Why?”
“If he's innocent, we need him.”
“And if he's guilty?”
Hayes met her eyes.
“Then I want you to prove it.”
The next morning, the entire base knew something was happening.
They didn't know what.
But soldiers noticed.
Military police had appeared near the communications building.
Senior officers had been called into meetings.
Several computer systems had been isolated.
Access badges were being checked twice.
The mood around the barracks changed.
Captain Reed stood on the training field watching his platoon prepare for exercises.