Victoria looked at Sarah.
The video continued.
“I have obtained a copy of the original authorization document. It contains the signatures of every person present and a record of the instructions given during the meeting.”
Her father leaned closer to the camera.
“This is the evidence that connects the entire operation. Without it, they can blame one another. With it, they cannot.”
He looked down at something on the desk.
“The document is hidden in the place where the first agreement was signed. I have left a key with the recording. The key opens a private archive beneath the courthouse.”
The video ended.
Sarah stared at the screen.
“The courthouse basement.”
Victoria nodded.
“That's where we need to go.”
Before Sarah could answer, her phone rang.
It was the Virginia field office.
She listened for several seconds.
Then her expression changed.
“Victoria, we've found something.”
“What?”
“Blackwood. Surveillance teams observed two vehicles arriving at the property. One of the drivers matches Peter Wallace.”
Victoria stood.
“Have they identified anyone else?”
“Yes. A man matching Thomas Miller was seen entering the main building.”
“And inside?”
“Thermal imaging indicates at least three people in the lower level.”
Victoria thought of Ryan's father.
“James Mitchell?”
“We can't confirm his identity.”
Victoria looked at Sarah.
“We need to move.”
Sarah nodded.
“We can prepare an operation at Blackwood.”
“But we also need the courthouse archive. The authorization document may be the only evidence that directly proves Harlan's involvement.”
“Then we divide the team.”
Victoria considered the risk.
If they moved toward Blackwood, they might rescue James Mitchell and capture Wallace. But if they went to the courthouse, they might recover the document before Harlan's people could destroy it.
Either way, the clock was running.
“Send the courthouse team first,” Victoria decided. “They secure the archive and the document. I will lead the operation at Blackwood.”
Sarah looked concerned.
“Victoria, Wallace knows you're investigating him. He may be expecting you.”
“Then we make sure he doesn't know when we're coming.”
At 11:47 that night, a federal team entered the old courthouse.
The building stood silent beneath the glow of streetlights. Its windows were boarded, and temporary fencing surrounded the main entrance.
Victoria remained in the command vehicle while Sarah coordinated the archive search.
The small key from the monument fit an old security lock beneath the basement staircase.
Behind it was a narrow door.
The agents opened it.
Inside was a room filled with metal cabinets and old filing boxes. At the center stood a safe.
Sarah examined the lock.
“There's a combination panel.”
Victoria looked at the numbers from the photograph.
“Try 102214.”
The lock clicked.
Inside the safe was a thick folder wrapped in plastic.
Sarah opened it carefully.
The first page contained the original agreement.
The second page contained the authorization signatures.
And the final page contained a handwritten note from Richard Harlan.
Proceed as discussed. Any objections are to be treated as internal disagreements, not legal concerns.
Sarah stared at it.
“That's him.”
Victoria took a slow breath.
For eleven years, Harlan had denied knowing anything about the operation.
Now his own handwriting connected him directly to the fraudulent agreement.
“Photograph every page,” Victoria said. “Create three verified copies. One goes to the independent prosecutor. One goes to the inspector general. One stays with us.”
Sarah nodded.
Then a radio crackled.
“Command, we have movement outside the courthouse.”
Victoria turned.
“What kind of movement?”
“Two vehicles approaching the east entrance. No visible markings.”
“Lock down the archive. Nobody leaves the building alone.”
A moment later, the lights went out.
The entire basement fell into darkness.
Someone had cut the power.
Victoria reached for her flashlight.
“Sarah, report.”
There was static.
Then a voice came through the radio.
“Director Bennett, we have an intruder.”
Victoria drew a breath.
The courthouse was no longer simply a place where evidence had been hidden.
It had become another battlefield in a war that had begun eleven years earlier.
And somewhere in the darkness, someone was moving toward the archive.
The first sound Victoria heard was a sharp metallic impact somewhere beyond the archive door.
Then came a second sound.
Footsteps.
Someone was moving through the basement.
Victoria raised her flashlight and signaled to the two agents beside her. Their weapons were ready, but nobody fired. The darkness made it impossible to identify the intruder.
“Sarah, can you hear me?” Victoria whispered into her radio.
Static.
She tried again.
“Sarah, respond.”
A faint voice finally came through.