“That may be useful.”
At 2200 that night, the communications center went dark.
Every monitor shut down simultaneously.
Security alarms activated.
Red lights flashed.
Soldiers rushed into the hall.
Elena was already moving.
“Lock the building.”
A guard answered.
“Which section?”
“All of it.”
“Ma'am, personnel are still inside.”
“I know.”
She entered the communications center.
Captain Reed was there.
Major Lin was there.
Colonel Hayes was there.
Four other officers.
The doors locked automatically.
Nobody could leave.
Elena looked around.
“Someone triggered a containment protocol.”
Reed frowned.
“That's impossible.”
“It happened.”
“From where?”
Elena looked at the central console.
“Inside.”
Hayes looked at her.
“Do it.”
Elena stepped toward the terminal.
The system displayed a single message.
AUTHENTICATION FAILURE.
Then another.
USER: VOSS, ELENA.
Everyone looked at her.
Reed stepped forward.
“Ma'am?”
Elena stared at the screen.
Someone had used her credentials.
Her own identity.
Her own access code.
Her own authorization.
Someone was trying to make it look like she had initiated the breach.
Hayes spoke quietly.
“They're framing you.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
Reed looked around.
“Then the person who did it is in this room.”
Nobody moved.
Elena turned off the terminal.
“Exactly.”
The lights returned.
But nobody relaxed.
Elena looked at each person.
Hayes.
Lin.
Reed.
The others.
Then she said:
“From this moment forward, nobody trusts anyone.”
Reed asked:
“What do we do?”
Elena looked at him.
“We wait.”
“For what?”
“For the person who thinks they're smarter than everyone else to make another mistake.”
Three hours later, the mistake came.
A door opened.
Someone entered the restricted archive.
The cameras caught the figure.
Dark uniform.
Face concealed.
The person moved quickly.
They reached the archive terminal.
Entered a code.
The screen activated.
Elena watched from the security room.
She had been waiting.
The figure opened a file.
Black Meridian.
Then Nightglass.
Then Hollow Crown.
Elena whispered:
“Got you.”
The security team moved.
But before they reached the archive, the lights went out again.
The figure disappeared.
When emergency power returned, the archive was empty.
Except for one thing.
A military identification card.
Captain Mason Reed.
Elena picked it up.
Hayes stared.
“Is it his?”
“Yes.”
Reed looked stunned.
“I didn't leave it there.”
Elena looked at him.
“I believe you.”
Hayes frowned.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if Reed were the traitor, he wouldn't leave his identification behind.”
Hayes stared at the card.
“So someone planted it.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at the cameras.
“Which means our traitor is getting desperate.”
The next morning, Reed was arrested.
Not because Elena believed he was guilty.
Because someone needed him isolated.
The official order came from outside the installation.
Elena objected.
It didn't matter.
Two military police officers escorted Reed away.
As he passed Elena, he stopped.
“You know I didn't do it.”
“Yes.”
“Then why aren't you stopping this?”
“Because I need you alive.”
Reed stared at her.
She leaned closer.
“Don't fight them.”
“Why?”
“Because if you're innocent, your arrest is part of the plan.”
His eyes widened.
“What plan?”
“You'll find out.”
Reed was taken away.
Six hours later, another breach occurred.
This time the target wasn't a file.
It was a person.
Colonel Hayes.
His secure vehicle was sabotaged.
The brake system failed.
He survived only because his driver noticed the problem.
Elena stood over the damaged vehicle.
Someone was escalating.
The traitor wasn't trying to steal information anymore.
They were trying to eliminate witnesses.
Elena returned to headquarters.
She opened every file.
Every camera.
Every access log.
Every communication.
Then she saw something.
A pattern.
Not in the digital records.
In the physical movements.
Every breach happened within twenty minutes of a specific logistical event.
A fuel delivery.
A meal delivery.
A maintenance inspection.
A medical transfer.
Different departments.
Different personnel.
Same timing.
Elena called Private Miller.
“Sir?”
“Come with me.”
They walked toward the supply depot.
Miller looked nervous.
“What are we looking for?”
“Someone who doesn't belong.”
They entered the depot.
Miller looked around.
“I don't see anyone.”
Elena pointed.