Chương 5
“Is Marcus talking?” Sarah asked.
“He confirmed ownership of the phone and denied knowledge of the message. Then Wells made him stop.”
“Did he explain the encrypted app?”
“No.”
“Can we identify the sender?”
“Not yet. Routing bounced through multiple systems. The message receipt is verified, but sender attribution is not.”
Mercer said, “Briefing site?”
“Moved to Fort Meade. Time pushed to 0900. Attendance restricted.”
Sarah frowned. “The leak network might interpret that as confirmation.”
“They might.”
“What information are we feeding?”
“None until morning.”
“Then we lose the chance to draw them out.”
Priya glanced at Mercer.
He said, “Sarah.”
“You know I’m right.”
“I know you’re no longer making that decision.”
A door opened down the corridor. Gordon Wells emerged first, compact and silver-haired in a midnight-blue suit. Marcus followed wearing a white disposable coverall over an undershirt and borrowed pants. His stained clothes had been collected as evidence in the assault case. Without the navy suit, he seemed both larger and less substantial.
Chloe walked beside him.
Sarah had not known she was there.
Chloe saw the red stripe on Sarah’s badge and understood enough to glance at Mercer.
Wells stopped. “Colonel, my client will not consent to any interaction with Major Hayes.”
“Lieutenant Colonel,” Sarah said automatically.
Wells looked at her torn collar. “Noted.”
Marcus kept his eyes on the floor.
Chloe said, “They’re releasing him.”
“Pending further investigation,” Priya said. “The assault charge will be handled separately by local authorities.”
“He attacked a federal officer during an espionage investigation,” Sarah said.
“I was not acting in a federal capacity,” Sarah corrected herself before Priya could.
Wells smiled slightly. “A distinction we appreciate.”
Marcus finally looked up.
The cut at his temple had been cleaned and sealed with adhesive strips. His eyes were no longer bloodshot. Fear had sobered him.
“Your people searched my company,” he said.
“Do not speak to her,” Wells warned.
Marcus ignored him. “They took every computer.”
“Do not speak to her.”
“You wanted this,” Marcus said to Sarah.
Chloe closed her eyes.
Sarah could feel Mercer waiting to see whether she would respond.
She said, “Someone sent you a request for a restricted military briefing location. That is why your company was searched.”
“I didn’t ask them to.”
“You recognized the message.”
“I recognized that it looked bad.”
“You went pale.”
“My sister-in-law had my face on a table and men with guns were entering the house.”
“You were afraid before they entered.”
Wells stepped between them. “This ends now.”
Marcus’s voice rose. “She planted it.”
People in the corridor turned.
Sarah looked at Chloe.
Her sister did not meet her eyes.
That hurt more than Marcus’s accusation should have.
Priya said, “The device was under monitored legal authority before the dinner. The incoming communication was captured remotely.”
Marcus faltered.
Wells gave Priya a long, displeased look. “We will discuss what you believe you captured through formal channels.”
He guided Marcus toward the elevator.
Chloe remained where she was.
“Are you going with him?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know.”
The elevator opened. Marcus turned back.
“Chloe.”
She flinched at her name.
Wells held the door.
Chloe went to her husband.
At 2:15 in the morning, Sarah sat alone in a conference room with a paper cup of coffee that smelled burned and tasted worse. Her shoulder had stiffened. Purple bruising spread across the base of her neck where Marcus had grabbed the collar.
Through the interior glass wall, analysts crossed the operations floor carrying laptops and sealed folders. Sarah recognized people she had supervised hours earlier. None entered the conference room.
Her visitor badge rested on the table.
She turned it face down.
A cleaning woman came in pushing a cart and paused when she saw Sarah.
“I can come back.”
“It’s all right.”
The woman emptied the trash, wiped the whiteboard, and replaced a box of tissues no one had used. She hummed under her breath. Sarah could not identify the song.
“You working Thanksgiving?” the woman asked.
“Yes.”
“Me too.”
Sarah looked at the cleaning cart. “Right.”
The woman smiled. “My family’s doing dinner Saturday. Cheaper turkey by then.”
“That’s smart.”
“It’s what I told them.”
She moved to the door, then glanced at Sarah’s torn collar. “Rough meeting?”
“Family dinner.”
The woman laughed before realizing Sarah was serious. She covered her mouth, apologized, and left.
Sarah drank the coffee anyway.
At 3:00, Priya entered and closed the door.
“We found a financial discrepancy.”
Sarah sat straighter.
“Marcus’s firm received four payments over the past eleven months from a logistics consultancy incorporated in Delaware. Total of eight hundred and forty thousand dollars.”
“For what services?”
“Invoices say strategic market analysis.”
“Did he perform it?”
“We found three reports. They’re recycled public material.”
“Shell payment.”
“Probably.”
“Same company linked to the accountant?”
“Adjacent structure, different name.”
“Who controls it?”
“Still tracing.”
Sarah pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Eight hundred and forty thousand. Chloe would notice.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Their mortgage is large, his firm handles irregular revenue, and he keeps separate business accounts.”
“They renovated the kitchen in March.”
Priya nodded. “Paid in cash.”
“Marcus said it was a client bonus.”
“Could have been.”
Sarah looked at her. “You don’t believe that.”
“I believe the money requires an explanation.”
“Did Chloe know about Wells?”
“She said Marcus retained him last year after a contract dispute.”
“Was there a dispute?”
“We found no filing.”
Sarah pushed the coffee away. “He’s been preparing.”
“Or hiding something unrelated.”
“You’re working hard to protect alternatives.”
“That is my job.”
“My job too.”
“Not tonight.”
The words were not cruel. That made them worse.
Priya sat across from her. “There’s another issue. The message used ‘Vanguard,’ not a descriptive reference.”
“The network used the codename before.”
“Once. In the compromised calendar attachment.”
“Which meant they had internal access.”
“Yes. But Marcus would not need to know the term for the sender to use it.”
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“He knew enough to be frightened.”
Priya glanced through the glass at the operations floor. “We pulled building-entry records for the people with access to the possible briefing sites. One irregularity came up.”
