Chapter 10 - The Rooftop Confrontation
Colonel Henderson turned slowly as the heavy roof hatch clattered back against the gravel, his dark trench coat whipping around his legs in the brisk wind. He didn't look surprised; rather, a cold, calculated smile touched the corners of his mouth as he adjusted the strap of the satellite uplink dish slung over his shoulder.
“Captain Loasing. And General Vance,” Henderson greeted smoothly, his voice easily carrying over the rush of the wind. “I must admit, you are much harder to eliminate than the algorithm predicted.”
“It’s over, Henderson,” the General barked, stepping out onto the rooftop with his posture rigid and commanding. “We have the audio logs, we have the metadata, and we have the transmission records from the motor pool. Your career as a procurement officer is finished.”
Henderson chuckled softly, reaching slowly inside his coat. He didn't pull a weapon; instead, he produced a small, secure tablet computer and tapped the screen twice.
“You think those files belong to you, General?” Henderson asked, his tone dripping with condescension. “The moment your vehicle interface established a handshake with the motor pool network, my automated scrubbers wiped your personal terminal clean. As of three minutes ago, your digital service records no longer exist in the Pentagon database.”
Loasing raised her service pistol, keeping her sights locked dead center on Henderson’s chest. “You can wipe a database, Colonel, but you can't wipe physical evidence. Put the tablet down on the gravel and drop to your knees.”
Henderson didn't flinch. He simply pressed another button on the tablet screen, and a dozen red laser dots suddenly appeared dancing across Loasing and the General’s chests, originating from the shadows of the adjacent communication towers.
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“You brought a pistol to a sniper standoff, Captain?” Henderson sneered. “Put the gun down, or the watchdog units on the perimeter fence will turn you both into abstract art.”
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