Chapter 11 #5
"I think Claire is right, Alex," Candace said. "And honestly, I don't think we have many choices."
Alex looked at Jameson. "Albany?"
"Albany," she said.
Alex looked around the room.
Candace remained steady, albeit grim.
Jameson smiling reassuringly.
Claire, waiting for Alex to do the one thing none of them liked to do.
Let go of control. Alex hated every piece of it.
Jane missing. Ferro searching. Kapralov moving. Albany. Pyotr. The press storm that would come when Stephanie and Alexandra finally called their mother's disappearance what it was.
She hated that Jane might have done this deliberately.
She hated that she understood why.
Alex finally nodded.
"Call Pyotr," she said.
Washington, D.C.
"What do you think?" Alex asked.
Jameson stood silently, studying her surroundings.
The room hummed around them, a steady, low thrum—a pulse of power from behind reinforced walls.
Servers stood dark in neat, waiting rows, while glass partitions divided the space into sections.
It felt too clean to be abandoned, too cold to be safe.
Everything had been designed with purpose; everything suggested readiness.
That bothered Jameson more than decay would have.
"JD," Claire called gently.
Jameson shook her head.
"I know," Claire said. "It's a lot to take in. It was a lot to take in for Alex and me."
Jameson slowly turned and shook her head.
Alex sighed. "I know. It's?—"
"Insane," Jameson said.
"Yep," Claire agreed.
Jameson finally chuckled. She sobered quickly. "What the hell is this place supposed to be used for?"
"I think it was meant to be used in case John was compromised," Alex said. "There were no deepfakes then, JD. There was technology—not what we're dealing with now. He needed a place to make life appear to be moving as normal, even if everything was falling apart."
"And now?"
"This place has the capacity to process massive amounts of data," Claire said. "Near as we've been able to tell, it hasn't been used to process much."
"So? Does that mean the data center goes?" Jameson asked.
Silence.
Jameson looked at Claire, who tilted her head. Then she looked back at Alex.
"I know," Alex said. "I don't like it either."
"Alex, I can design this into anything you want. I can. It doesn't mean I should."
Alex nodded.
"And it doesn't mean you should, either," Jameson said.
"It's not something I want to utilize, JD. And I know Candace would prefer we never have to use it, but it's a safety?—"
"Nothing about this place is safe," Jameson said.
Alex sighed.
Jameson took a deep breath and shook her head again. "This is Candace's call. I'll help you because it's what she's agreed to, but I think the best thing you could do is let this go. Get rid of it."
Claire and Alex exchanged a surprised look.
"I wish I could say I'm sorry," Jameson said. "I'm not. If you want things to see the light of day, you can't keep putting them under the ground."
Alex looked away.
Jameson held up a hand. "Kapralov will be safe in Albany. Maybe safer than in this—" She shook her head. "Whatever this is."
"John built this as a?—"
"As a what?" Jameson asked. "A safety net? Do you really believe that? Maybe he believed that, too. But this isn't the way to do things. It just isn't. I don't need to be a president or a spy to know that."
Alex looked at Claire.
Claire shrugged.
"You honestly believe Nika Kapralov will be safe in Albany?" Alex asked.
"Do you honestly think anyone would look for him there?" Jameson countered.
Alex chuckled despite herself.
"Look," Jameson said. "I can do this. And I will. But do me a favor?"
"What's that?" Alex asked.
"Think about it a little more. Both of you. Maybe this place could be useful. Not to hide someone away who's already hidden. Just..." She glanced around again. "Think about it."
Alex nodded.
"If you still want me to make a space for Nika Kapralov here, I will. And if not? If there comes a time when you do need this place, I'll help any way I can."
Alex looked past Jameson to the dormant equipment, the reinforced walls, the clean lines of a place built by a man who believed contingency and control were synonymous with safety.
Perhaps John Merrow had meant well. That didn't make this place less problematic.
Claire crossed her arms. "You sure you don't want to work with us?" she asked Jameson.
Jameson laughed.
Alex chuckled, but her gaze remained on the room.
For months, she had thought of this place as an answer—a hidden asset, a last resort. A way to keep people alive if the world above became too dangerous.
Now, standing beside Jameson, she wondered if it was something else entirely: a warning she should heed.
Alex nodded. "Okay."
Jameson looked at her. "Okay?"
"Okay," Alex said again. "We'll think about it."
Claire studied her. "That had to hurt," she teased.
Alex laughed. She took one last look around the underground space, then turned toward the exit. "Come on," she said. "Let's get out of here."
No one argued.
Alex looked back over her shoulder. Maybe Jameson was right. Maybe it was time for less digging and more sunlight. Maybe.