Robert looked toward Victor.
"And he controls Meridian?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
He pointed toward the screen.
"Meridian controls itself."
Victor laughed.
"That's impossible."
Daniel looked at him.
"That's what my father wanted you to believe."
The room fell silent.
Daniel remembered something his father had told him when he was a child.
The safest system is the one that doesn't trust the person operating it.
At the time, Daniel had thought it was just an engineer's philosophy.
Now he understood.
Thomas had built Meridian so that no single person could dominate it.
Not even himself.
The system was designed to detect abuse and then lock itself away.
But the master key was not a password.
It was a human decision.
Daniel.
The person his father trusted to decide whether the system deserved to survive.
Victor realized it too.
"You need him."
Daniel looked at him.
"Yes."
"So do I."
"Yes."
Victor smiled.
"Then we have something in common."
"No."
Daniel's voice was quiet.
"We have nothing in common."
Victor looked irritated.
"You think you're better than me."
"No."
"Then what?"
"I think you're afraid."
Victor's smile disappeared.
Daniel continued.
"You've spent years building a system that lets you control people."
He looked at the monitors.
"But you never learned how to control yourself."
Victor raised the weapon.
Robert moved.
"Don't!"
Daniel lifted his hand.
"Wait."
Victor's finger tightened.
Then a loud alarm sounded.
The entire room shook.
A red message appeared.
SECURITY BREACH — LEVEL FOUR
Victor turned.
"What now?"
Daniel smiled.
"Your people."
"What?"
"They're losing control."
On the screen, airport security footage appeared.
Several masked men were moving through Terminal Four.
Employees were being evacuated.
Passengers were confused.
A false emergency alert had been triggered.
Robert stood.
"We have to stop them."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
Victor looked at him.
"You can't leave."
Daniel glanced at the unlocked door.
Then back at Victor.
"Apparently I can."
The door opened.
Victor stared.
Daniel walked out.
Robert followed.
Claire hesitated.
Then ran after them.
Victor shouted:
"Stop!"
Nobody did.
They reached the terminal.
Chaos had spread.
Passengers were being directed toward emergency exits.
Security teams were moving toward the gates.
The false alert claimed there was a chemical hazard.
Daniel immediately recognized the pattern.
"Don't evacuate everyone."
Robert looked at him.
"What?"
"The alert is fake."
"How do you know?"
"Because it's too specific."
Daniel checked the emergency system.
"Someone wants this terminal empty."
Robert understood.
"Why?"
Daniel looked toward Gate 41.
"To move something."
They ran.
Gate 41 was no longer empty.
A black vehicle had entered through a restricted service tunnel.
Two men unloaded equipment.
Daniel pointed.
"There."
Security officers moved in.
A struggle began.
Victor's men resisted.
But they were outnumbered.
Within minutes, they were detained.
Daniel searched the vehicle.
Inside was a portable server rack.
Robert stared.
"They were moving Meridian."
Daniel nodded.
"Part of it."
Claire looked confused.
"Why move it?"
Daniel examined the equipment.
"Because they couldn't control the core here."
"So they were going to relocate it."
"Yes."
He found a small encrypted drive.
A label was attached.
THOMAS C.
Daniel stared.
"That's from my father."
Robert asked:
"What does it contain?"
"I don't know."
Daniel inserted it into a secure terminal.
A single file appeared.
FOR DANIEL ONLY
He opened it.
Thomas's face appeared on screen.
"My son."
Daniel sat down.
Thomas looked older than in the previous recording.
"I have spent sixteen years waiting for you to find this."
Daniel swallowed.
"I didn't abandon you."
Thomas paused.
"I know you believed I did."
Daniel looked away.
Thomas continued.
"I disappeared because Meridian's creators were no longer interested in prevention. They wanted prediction."
He explained that the system had originally been developed to identify corruption.
But corporations discovered its value.
Government contractors wanted access.
Security companies wanted access.
Airlines wanted access.
Insurance firms wanted access.
Financial institutions wanted access.
The more powerful people became interested, the more dangerous Meridian became.
Thomas refused to hand it over.
So they framed him.
They declared him mentally unstable.
They fabricated financial records.
They created a false termination report.
Then they made him disappear.
Daniel's hands tightened.
"Why didn't you come home?"
Thomas looked down.
"Because they were watching you."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Thomas continued.
"I stayed away because I believed distance would protect you."
A tear moved down Daniel's cheek.
It was the first emotion he had shown all day.
His father continued.
"I was wrong."
The screen changed.
A list of names appeared.
Daniel recognized one immediately.
ELENA VOSS
Robert stared.
"She's the compliance director."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
Another name.
VICTOR HALE
Another.
ROBERT KLINE
Robert froze.
Daniel looked at him.
"What?"
Robert stared at his own name.
"No."
Daniel continued scrolling.
Some names were crossed out.
Others were active.
Then he saw one final name.
DANIEL CROSS
Status:
PRIMARY AUTHORITY
Thomas's voice returned.
"If Meridian is active again, someone will try to use you."
Daniel looked at the screen.
"Do not trust anyone simply because they have authority."
Thomas paused.
"Authority is the easiest thing in the world to imitate."
Then the recording ended.
Robert looked disturbed.
"Why is my name on that list?"
Daniel did not answer.
Claire did.
"Maybe because they were tracking everyone."
Robert looked at her.
"Or because I'm involved."
Daniel turned toward him.
Robert immediately raised both hands.
"I'm not."
Daniel studied him.
"You knew about Meridian."
"No."
"You recognized Victor."
"Because he was dismissed from security systems."
"Why?"
"Unauthorized access."
Daniel stared.
Robert continued.
"He tried to access restricted files."
"What files?"
"I don't know."
Daniel believed him.
Not because Robert sounded convincing.
Because Robert looked genuinely afraid.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A voice spoke.
"Daniel."
His father's voice.
"Where are you?"
"Close."
"Don't trust Robert."
Daniel looked at Robert.
Thomas continued.
"He's been compromised."
The line went dead.
Robert saw Daniel's expression.
"What did he say?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Nothing."
Robert's face tightened.
"You don't trust me."
"I trust what I can verify."
Robert nodded.
"Fair."
Then Claire's phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
ROBERT KLINE IS NOT THE TRAITOR.
A second message followed.
LOOK AT THE CAMERA.
Daniel looked up.
A security camera above Gate 41.
Its indicator light was blinking.
Then the camera moved.
It focused directly on Daniel.
The screen on a nearby monitor activated.
Thomas appeared.
"Daniel."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Father."
"I need you to listen carefully."
Daniel waited.
"Elena Voss is coming."
"Why?"
"Because she believes she can control Meridian."
"And can she?"
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because she doesn't understand what it became."
Daniel frowned.
"What did it become?"
Thomas looked directly into the camera.
"A mirror."
The screen went dark.
Behind Daniel, footsteps echoed.
A woman entered the gate.
Elegant suit.
Calm expression.
Blonde hair.
Elena Voss.
She smiled.
"Daniel."
Daniel turned.
"You've been busy."
Elena looked at him.
"You have no idea."
Then she raised her hand.
Security officers behind her pointed their weapons.
"Step away from the terminal."
Daniel stared.
"You work for the airport."
Elena smiled.