"Daniel..."
"I'm fine."
Victor smiled.
"That's what makes you dangerous."
Daniel looked at him.
"You've made a mistake."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"Have I?"
"You kidnapped the Director of Airport Operations inside his own terminal."
"I prefer temporary containment."
"You assaulted a duty supervisor."
"Unfortunately."
"And you threatened a civilian employee."
Victor looked at Claire.
"She was never supposed to be involved."
Claire swallowed.
Daniel looked at him.
"Then why was she targeted?"
"Because she helped you."
"She was a witness."
"Exactly."
Daniel studied him.
"You've been watching me."
"Of course."
"How long?"
"Longer than you think."
Victor crouched in front of Daniel.
"You were always curious."
Daniel said nothing.
"You just hid it better after your father disappeared."
Victor leaned closer.
"You spent years believing he abandoned you."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"You know nothing about my family."
"I know more than you."
"Then tell me."
Victor smiled.
"Not yet."
Daniel stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because you still think this is about your father."
Victor stood.
"It's not."
He walked toward a control panel.
"This is about control."
A screen lit up.
Live images from Terminal Four appeared.
Passengers moved through security.
Employees worked at counters.
Planes arrived and departed.
Victor tapped the screen.
"Do you know what airports really are?"
Daniel answered.
"Transportation systems."
Victor shook his head.
"Behavioral systems."
He changed the display.
Different passenger profiles appeared.
Names.
Purchases.
Travel history.
Employment.
Financial indicators.
Security flags.
Social connections.
Daniel's face hardened.
"How did you get this?"
"Meridian."
"You expanded it."
"We perfected it."
Daniel looked at the screens.
"Why?"
Victor turned.
"Because people are predictable."
"Not that predictable."
"You'd be surprised."
Victor displayed a profile.
An ordinary passenger.
The system predicted his probability of missing a connection.
Another profile.
The probability of accepting a higher fare.
Another.
The likelihood of becoming aggressive after being delayed.
Another.
The probability of filing a complaint.
Daniel understood.
"You're using passenger psychology."
Victor smiled.
"Not just psychology."
He showed another screen.
Commercial contracts.
Airline partnerships.
Insurance data.
Advertising.
Security services.
"Every passenger is worth something."
Daniel looked disgusted.
"And every passenger can be manipulated."
Victor nodded.
"Now you understand."
Robert began to wake.
Victor noticed.
"Don't move."
Robert ignored him.
Victor pointed the weapon toward him.
Daniel spoke.
"Don't."
Robert stopped.
Victor looked pleased.
"You see? Even now, you're making decisions for him."
Daniel stared at him.
"That's what you want."
"What?"
"People to believe they have no choice."
Victor's expression tightened.
"You always were like your father."
Daniel smiled faintly.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Victor turned away.
Daniel looked at the room.
There were cameras.
Two doors.
A control panel.
An emergency light.
One ventilation duct.
Claire watched him.
She understood.
Daniel was counting.
Victor returned.
"You have no way out."
Daniel looked at him.
"Everyone has a way out."
"Not here."
"Then you're not very imaginative."
Victor raised his weapon.
"Enough."
Daniel remained calm.
"Tell me where my father is."
Victor stared at him.
Then laughed.
"You're still asking."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because if he's alive, you made one mistake."
"What?"
"You assumed he was the person I was trying to save."
Victor frowned.
Daniel continued.
"If he's alive, he's probably the person who knows how to destroy Meridian."
Victor's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Daniel saw it.
There.
Fear.
Daniel smiled.
"He's alive."
Victor said nothing.
Daniel leaned back.
"You wouldn't have reacted if he were dead."
Victor walked toward him.
"Your father is alive."
Claire gasped.
Daniel remained still.
"Where?"
"Somewhere you can't reach."
"Why?"
"Because he knows what Meridian became."
Daniel looked at the screens.
"Who controls it?"
Victor did not answer.
"Who?"
Silence.
Daniel repeated:
"Who controls Meridian?"
Victor finally spoke.
"You do."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
"That's the problem."
Victor gestured toward the monitor.
"Your father built Meridian around one principle. No executive should have absolute control."
Daniel nodded.
"And?"
"And he created a failsafe."
Victor looked at him.
"The system recognizes only one person as capable of shutting it down."
Daniel understood.
"Me."
Victor smiled.
"Exactly."
"So you need me alive."
"Very much."
"Then why kidnap me?"
"Because we need you to activate it."
Daniel stared.
"You want me to activate Meridian."
"We need access to the core."
"And what happens then?"
Victor smiled.
"We inherit the system."
Daniel's voice became colder.
"You're going to use it globally."
"Eventually."
"For what?"
"Influence."
"Money."
"That too."
"Politics?"
Victor smiled.
"Everything."
Daniel looked at him.
"And you think I'll help."
"No."
Victor stepped closer.
"We think you'll have no choice."
The lights flickered.
Victor looked toward the control panel.
"Interesting."
A warning appeared.
REMOTE ACCESS ATTEMPT
Victor moved quickly.
"What is that?"
Daniel smiled.
"Someone else is inside the network."
Victor turned toward him.
"Who?"
Daniel did not answer.
Another message appeared.
MERIDIAN CORE — SECOND AUTHENTICATION DETECTED
Victor's face went pale.
"No."
Daniel watched him.
"That's not your system anymore."
Victor rushed toward the console.
The screen changed.
A video feed appeared.
A dark room.
An older man sat in a chair.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Daniel stopped breathing.
"Father."
Thomas Cross looked directly at the camera.
Then said:
"Hello, Daniel."
Daniel's eyes filled with disbelief.
Thomas smiled sadly.
"I knew you'd come looking."
Victor stepped backward.
"How did you get into the system?"
Thomas ignored him.
He looked at Daniel.
"You have one hour."
Daniel stared.
"One hour for what?"
"To decide whether you trust the system your father built..."
Thomas paused.
"...or destroy it."
The screen went black.
Victor turned toward Daniel.
"Where is he?"
Daniel smiled.
"I don't know."
Victor raised the weapon.
Daniel looked at him.
"But now neither do you."
For the first time, Victor looked afraid.
And Daniel knew they had just gained their first advantage.
The Choice
The next twenty minutes changed everything.
Victor tried to regain control of Meridian.
The system refused him.
He attempted manual authorization.
Denied.
He tried emergency credentials.
Denied.
He attempted to isolate the server.
Denied.
Every action returned the same message.
PRIMARY AUTHORITY PRESENT.
Victor stared at Daniel.
"You did this."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Daniel looked at the screen.
"My father."
Victor's face tightened.
"But he's not physically here."
"He doesn't need to be."
Robert had regained consciousness.
He slowly sat up.
"What happened?"
Claire answered.
"Thomas Cross is alive."
Robert stared.
"Daniel's father?"
Daniel nodded.