“Then my entire life has been part of their operation.”
“No,” her father replied firmly. “They used your name. They did not create the person you became.”
The transfer reached one hundred percent.
Walker disconnected the drive.
“Got it.”
A second warning appeared.
PURGE SEQUENCE: FINAL STAGE.
The countdown showed less than three minutes.
Rebecca fired twice toward the entrance as a section of the steel door began to bend inward.
“Move! Now!”
They hurried toward the hidden tunnel.
Olivia carried the portable drive. Thomas held the metal box, while Walker helped Porter down the narrow passage. Daniel followed Rebecca.
Behind them, the archive alarms became louder.
They reached a heavy door at the end of the tunnel.
Daniel searched the wall for a hidden switch.
“Here.”
He pressed it.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
“It's locked,” Porter said.
Thomas examined the control panel.
“It's not a normal lock. It requires a manual release from the other side.”
Walker looked back.
“We don't have time to find another route.”
Olivia noticed a small metal plate beneath the control panel. It had three numbers engraved on it.
Twenty years earlier, her father had used a phrase to help her remember important things.
Some doors can only be opened by remembering where the story began.
She looked at the numbers.
They were the address of her childhood home.
“Try the house number,” she said.
Thomas stared at her.
“What?”
“The number of our old house. It's what opened the first door.”
He entered the numbers.
A low mechanical sound came from inside the wall.
The lock released.
The door swung open.
They emerged into a basement filled with old furniture and abandoned filing cabinets.
Above them, the sounds of gunfire continued.
Daniel pointed toward a staircase.
“The courthouse is directly above us.”
Olivia looked at him.
“Can we reach the street?”
“Yes, but there's another problem.”
“What?”
Daniel walked toward a small window covered by metal bars.
“Caldwell owns the building across the street. He has men watching every exit.”
Walker checked his phone.
“No signal.”
Rebecca looked around.
“We need a secure line. If we can contact an independent federal team, we can get the evidence out.”
Porter pointed toward an old office.
“There should be a landline in there.”
They entered.
The room was covered in dust, but the telephone still sat on the desk. Rebecca picked it up and dialed an emergency number she had memorized.
After several seconds, someone answered.
“Federal emergency operations.”
“This is Special Agent Rebecca Hayes. I need an independent response team at the old courthouse. Possible evidence destruction, armed suspects, and a compromised federal director.”
“Please verify your identity.”
Rebecca gave her credentials and a security phrase.
The operator paused.
“Agent Hayes, your credentials have been suspended.”
Rebecca froze.
“What?”
“Your authorization was revoked six minutes ago by Director Reynolds.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“Tell them to verify the evidence through an external channel.”
Rebecca tried again.
The operator's voice became more cautious.
“Agent, we have received an order identifying you as a suspected participant in an unauthorized operation. You are instructed to surrender immediately.”
Rebecca slowly lowered the receiver.
“They've turned the entire agency against us.”
Olivia looked at Walker.
“Can we contact the press?”
Walker shook his head.
“Not safely. If we release the evidence without verifying it, Caldwell will claim it's fabricated. We need someone outside the federal system who can authenticate the records.”
Daniel looked toward Olivia.
“Judge Eleanor Whitmore.”
Olivia remembered the judge's old cassette recording and the pain in her eyes when she spoke about her missing husband.
“She can help us.”
“She knows the original investigation,” Daniel said. “She also has documents that were never included in the official case file.”
Thomas nodded.
“Then we get to her.”
A sudden sound came from the staircase.
Someone was descending.
Rebecca raised her weapon.
“Positions!”
The basement door opened.
A man stepped into the room.
He wore a dark suit and carried no visible weapon.
Olivia recognized him immediately.
Senator Richard Caldwell.
He looked at the group with a small smile.
“Quite an impressive reunion,” he said. “I must admit, Thomas, I never expected to see you again.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“You should have left my family alone.”
Caldwell gave a quiet laugh.
“Your family? You mean the family you abandoned twenty years ago?”
Thomas clenched his jaw.
Caldwell turned toward Olivia.
“And you, young lady. You have inherited a rather complicated financial arrangement.”
Olivia held up the portable drive.
“It's over, Senator.”
Caldwell glanced at it.