Chapter 10 - The Encrypted Signal
Vivienne pressed the tactical handset to her ear, listening to the static-filled audio loop playing on a secure loop channel. A cold, synthesized voice was repeating a set of GPS coordinates and a transmission window: Extraction point Delta, midnight, zero-hour.
Marcus pulled the second operative’s hands behind his back, securing him tightly with heavy-duty flex-cuffs before standing up and brushing the dust from his knees. He looked over at Vivienne, watching the blue light of the radio illuminate her sharply angled features.
"They aren't just trying to destroy the evidence," Marcus said, his voice grim. "They're trying to extract someone high up who is still tied to the original Project Vanguard network."
Vivienne tapped the recording button on the handset, logging the frequency directly into her secure military tablet.
"The extraction point Delta is the abandoned naval dry docks down by the harbor," Vivienne said, her eyes narrowing as she connected the pieces of the puzzle. "That's where the original defense shipments were funneled during the Cold War. The infrastructure is still there, completely off the grid."
Marcus walked over to the desk, picking up the waterproof pouch containing the Project Vanguard ledger.
"If we go down there, we won't have backup," Marcus warned. "The local precinct has been compromised by the same network that sent these operatives. We’ll be walking straight into an ambush."
Vivienne looked down at the floor, where the unconscious operative was beginning to stir, groaning in pain as he regained consciousness. She knelt beside him, pressing the cold barrel of her service weapon gently against his collarbone.
"Who sent you?" Vivienne demanded, her voice chillingly calm. "Give me a name, and maybe I won't let the federal marshals charge you with treason."
The operative glared up at her through the smoke, a twisted, defiant smirk crossing his bruised face.
"You're too late, Captain," the man rasped, coughing slightly. "The buyer already has the primary encryption keys to the Pentagon mainframe. By midnight, every single record of the foundation's debt will be wiped clean, and you'll be the one standing in the ruins."
Vivienne stood up instantly, ignoring the threat as she grabbed her tablet and the evidence pouch.
"Marcus, we need to move now," she commanded, heading for the service staircase at the back of the library. "If they wipe the Pentagon mainframes, every veteran whose pension was stolen will lose their last chance at justice."
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They sprinted down the dark, twisting back stairs of the mansion, bursting out through the service exit into the pouring rain just as the distant wail of sirens began to echo through the night air.
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