Chapter 4 #2
"Then what am I supposed to do? Keep working while people die?"
"Help us use what you found to end the Committee permanently. Every person who died did it so you could expose Morrison's crimes and Webb's current operations. Honor that. Make their deaths count for something."
Reagan's shoulders sag. The adrenaline and anger draining away, leaving exhaustion behind. "I don't know how to do this. How to keep going when people are dying because of me."
"You do what I do. Focus on the mission. One file at a time. One connection at a time. Build the case until it's airtight and then burn the Committee's entire network to the ground."
"That's not enough."
"It's all we have." I guide her away from the terminal, toward the small kitchen area where coffee is perpetually brewing.
"You want to save lives? Help us build a case that holds up in federal court.
Something so comprehensive that Webb and everyone connected to Protocol Seven spends the rest of their lives in prison. "
"What if we don't have time? What if the Committee kills everyone who helped me before we can finish?"
"Then we make sure their deaths destroy the people responsible. But we don't get there by destroying evidence or giving up. We get there by doing the work."
I pour coffee, hand her a cup. She drinks it in silence.
"This is insane. All of it. I'm a journalist. I write stories. I don't build federal cases or run from assassination teams."
"You're not just a journalist anymore. You're a witness. And right now, you're the most valuable asset we have in bringing down the Committee's network."
"Asset." She laughs. No humor in it. "Is that what I am? Another tool for you to use?"
"You're someone who found evidence that could change everything.
Someone brave enough or stupid enough to keep digging when everyone else would have stopped.
The Committee wants you dead because you're dangerous.
Kane wants you alive because you're useful.
I want you to survive because I've seen too many good people die for bad reasons. "
Reagan studies me over the rim of her coffee cup. "Why do you care? You barely know me."
"Because you remind me of someone who couldn't stop asking questions even when it got her killed. And because maybe if I can keep you alive, it makes up for not saving her."
"Your wife."
"No, but someone she knew. Lisa said her friend was investigating something. Never told me what. Said it was safer if I didn't know. Three weeks later she was dead—supposedly in the wrong place at the wrong time, but sometimes I wonder and I wonder if whatever it was got her killed."
"And now you think saving me redeems that?"
"I think saving you means someone lives who shouldn't have died. That's enough."
Reagan sets down her coffee cup. Studies me with that analytical intensity she brings to everything. "You're not what I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"A monster. The Committee's enforcer. The man who disappeared witnesses without remorse. But you're just someone trying to make better choices."
"Don't romanticize it. I'm still the man who tortured people for information. Still the one who made innocents disappear because I followed orders without questioning them. The only difference now is I'm choosing my own targets instead of letting the Committee choose them for me."
"Is that supposed to make me trust you?"
"It's supposed to make you understand the stakes. We're not the good guys. We're just less evil than the people hunting us. Kane wants you alive because you're useful. I want you alive because I'm trying to prove I'm more than what they made me. Either way, you're safer here than anywhere else."
"That's not exactly reassuring."
"Better than the Committee's lies."
She accepts that. Drains her coffee.
"Kane mentioned a deal. I help build the case, you keep me alive. What does that look like?"
"You work under my supervision. Access whatever databases you need but only with Tommy providing counter-surveillance.
No independent communication with anyone outside this location.
No attempts to warn your sources or contact authorities.
Everything you find gets documented. Chain of custody maintained.
By the time we're done, we'll have a case so airtight that Webb can't buy his way out. "
"And if the Committee finds me before we finish?"
"Then we make sure the evidence survives even if you don't." I pull out an encrypted drive from my tactical jacket.
"Everything gets backed up in multiple locations.
Secure storage that triggers automatic release if any of us die.
Dead man's switch that ensures Webb goes down even if he kills us all. "
Reagan takes the drive. Turns it over in her hands. "You've thought this through."
"I've been planning the Committee's downfall since the day I saved Khalid. Morrison's crimes gave us the evidence, but you're the piece that makes it possible to take down Webb and the rest of them legally instead of with a bullet."
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't. You're too stubborn to quit and too smart to think you can survive on your own. The Committee has unlimited resources and professional killers. We have training, tactics, and desperation. Your odds are better with us."
She doesn't argue. Just pockets the encrypted drive.
"When do we start?"
"Now. First lesson: operational security." I pull up a tactical display. "Every communication leaves traces. Every database access creates logs. Even encrypted channels can be monitored if you're not careful. Tommy handles the technical side but you need to understand the basics."
"I know how to cover my digital tracks."
"You know how to avoid amateur surveillance.
The Committee isn't amateur." I display her investigation timeline, highlight every digital footprint she left.
"Here's where you accessed Morrison's financial records.
Here's where you pulled classified files.
Here's where you contacted sources via encrypted email.
Every single access point is logged and traceable. "
Reagan's face pales as she sees the scope of her exposure. "I used VPNs. Encrypted everything."
"VPNs can be compromised. Encryption can be broken.
The only truly secure communication is no communication.
" I close the display. "From now on, you access nothing without Tommy providing layered security.
Multiple VPNs, rotating servers, randomized access patterns.
Make it look like routine intelligence gathering instead of targeted investigation. "
"That will slow everything down."
"Slow and alive beats fast and dead." I pull up the Committee network again. "We have time. The Committee thinks you're hiding. They don't know you're actively building a case. Use that advantage. Let them think you're scared while we systematically dismantle their entire operation."
"You make it sound simple."
"It's methodical." I highlight connection points in the Committee network.
"Financial records link Morrison to shell corporations.
Shell corporations link to defense contractors.
Contractors link to Whitmore and Turner.
Follow the money, document the connections, build the chain of evidence one link at a time. "
"I've been doing this for six months."
"You've been investigating like a journalist. Now you investigate like a federal prosecutor.
Every document needs provenance. Every connection needs corroboration.
By the time we're done, Webb's network will be so thoroughly documented that no amount of classified stamps can bury it.
We're using Morrison's crimes as the foundation, but the target now is everyone still running Protocol Seven. "
Reagan studies the network. Her analytical mind already finding patterns, making connections. "This will take weeks."
"We have time. Maybe longer if Tommy's counter-surveillance holds." I check my phone. "Willa reports Dr. Patterson is stable. Committee teams withdrew from Ironwood Ridge. Local PD bought the gang violence cover story."
"So we're safe. For now."
"We're never safe. But we have time to work." I save the network analysis. "Get some sleep. We start fresh in six hours."
"I won't be able to sleep."
"Then lie down and rest. Your brain needs downtime even if your body doesn't." I head toward the door. "And Reagan? No more attempts to delete evidence. You destroy files, I tell Kane. He'll remove you from the investigation and hand you over to federal marshals."
"I thought the deal was you keep me alive."
"Alive doesn't mean you follow your own path. You want to work this case, you follow our rules. No exceptions."
She doesn't answer. Just turns back to stare at the Committee network like it's a puzzle she can solve through sheer force of will.
I recognize that look. Saw it in the mirror for years before everything went to hell. The certainty that if you just work hard enough, dig deep enough, you can fix what's broken.
My phone buzzes. Kane's message is brief:
Cross just made contact. Says the Committee's moving faster than anticipated. Timeline's accelerating. Keep Reagan productive and alive. We're running out of time. - Kane
I look back at Reagan. She's already pulling up new files, cross-referencing, building connections. Completely absorbed in the work.
We're running out of time. The Committee's escalating. And I'm standing here watching a woman who's going to get us all killed with her stubborn refusal to quit.
Khalid appears in the doorway. Silent as always. His dark eyes assess Reagan, then me, then back to Reagan.
"You like her." Not a question. A quiet observation.
"She's an asset."
"You watch her differently than you watch targets. Like you're protecting something precious instead of guarding a prisoner."
"Go to bed, kid."
"I'm not tired." Khalid moves into the room, keeps his distance from Reagan. "She's the reason the Committee is hunting us harder?"
"She's the reason we can destroy the Committee legally instead of with bullets."
"Bullets are faster."
"Bullets don't bring down networks. Evidence does. She's doing important work. Work that matters."
"So did your wife. It got her killed."
The comparison hits harder than intended. Khalid's too perceptive. Sees patterns everyone else misses.
"Reagan's not Lisa."
"No." Khalid turns back to head to his quarters. "Be careful. People you care about die."
He's gone before I can respond. And he's right. Everyone I've cared about dies.
Focus on the mission. Keep her alive because she's useful. Because the evidence she's building will destroy the Committee's network. Because operational success requires her testimony.
Reagan looks up from her terminal. "Did you say something?"
"No. Just thinking."
"About?"
"About how much trouble you're going to be when this is over."
She almost smiles. "Looking forward to it."
Yeah. So am I.
And that realization should worry me more than it does.