Agent Velez placed a second device beside the image.
Physical evidence.
Brock’s eyes shifted toward it.
The movement lasted less than a second.
Enough.
“We recovered this from a Vanguard Maritime warehouse in Ensenada,” Velez said.
Brock’s attorney raised a hand.
“My client has no knowledge of that company.”
I looked at Brock.
“Black Current.”
The thumb movement stopped.
Commander Kane turned toward me.
“What is that?”
“Something your client remembers.”
Brock’s jaw tightened.
I continued.
“Eleven wounded. Two missing. A route compromise no one could explain.”
“You cannot discuss classified operations in this setting.”
“This setting is compartmented.”
“Not with me present.”
“Your temporary access was approved.”
Kane looked toward the camera.
He had not known.
That meant Cross expected the conversation to move here before we entered.
Brock realized it too.
“You think I betrayed that mission,” he said.
“I think you are afraid I survived it.”
His eyes hardened.
“I did not know you were there.”
There it was.
Not denial.
Knowledge.
His attorney turned toward him.
Brock closed his eyes for one second.
I leaned forward.
“You said you had never heard of Black Current.”
“I heard rumors.”
“You just said you did not know I was there.”
“Because Cross mentioned it on the field.”
“No. He said I led the mission. He did not say I was physically present.”
Brock looked toward the one-way glass.
Admiral Cross remained invisible behind it.
The first crack had appeared.
Velez changed direction.
“Where is Lieutenant Commander Griggs?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he help falsify equipment reports?”
“No.”
“Did he contact you yesterday?”
“No.”
She placed a printed message log on the table.
Griggs had called Brock seven times.
Brock stared at it.
“My phone was in the command office.”
“Someone answered twice.”
“Not me.”
“Your voice was recorded.”
Kane leaned toward him.
“Do not answer.”
Brock looked at me.
“Why are you really here?”
“To find two missing men.”
His expression shifted.
I saw it.
Not surprise.
Satisfaction.
He knew I meant the two operators lost during Black Current.
Officially presumed dead.
Unofficially never confirmed.
“You still think they’re alive,” he said.
The room seemed to contract.
His attorney cursed under his breath.
I kept my face still.
“Why would I think that?”
“Because you never leave anyone behind.”
He knew too much.
Far too much.
“Who told you?”
Brock’s smile returned.
“The same people who know what you really are.”
Velez spoke.
“Names.”
He ignored her.
His attention remained on me.
“You command ghosts, Hayes. Men without uniforms. Missions without flags. You think secrecy makes you untouchable.”
“No.”
“What happens when your own government decides you know too much?”
“Is that what Mercer believed?”
His smile vanished.
I had guessed.
But the guess landed.
Elaine Mercer had not been an innocent file custodian whose credentials were stolen.
She was involved.
Perhaps willingly.
Perhaps under coercion.
Brock looked toward his attorney.
“I’m done.”
I stood.
Preview
“So are the people protecting you.”
He laughed.
“You have no idea how high this goes.”
I moved toward the door.
Then I stopped.
“Commander Sullivan.”
He looked up.
“When you struck me, you believed rank protected you.”
I touched the bruise on my cheek.
“It did not.”
His face tightened.
“Whatever organization is behind you made the same mistake.”
PART 5 — THE EMPTY BARRACKS
Three hours after the interview, an explosion destroyed a storage facility near the southern edge of the base.
The blast shook windows across Coronado.
Smoke rose above the training compound.
Emergency crews responded within minutes.
The facility was officially used for obsolete diving equipment.
Unofficially, it contained evidence seized from Vanguard Maritime.
Someone had planted an incendiary device before Brock’s arrest.
The timing system activated remotely.
No one was killed.
That seemed fortunate.
I did not believe in fortune during coordinated evidence destruction.
While fire crews worked, Sergeant Major Reed entered the command center carrying a tablet.
“Team Seven’s second platoon is missing.”
I turned.
“How many?”
“Sixteen.”
“Vehicles?”
“Still here.”
“Weapons?”
“Gone.”
“Orders?”
“None.”
Admiral Cross looked at the base map.
“Last confirmed location?”
“Barracks at eleven-forty.”
The explosion occurred at twelve-oh-three.
A twenty-three-minute window.
Security cameras showed nothing unusual.
Which meant the footage had been altered.
“Lock down the base,” Admiral Pierce ordered.
“No,” I said.
He looked at me.
