Chapter 5 - The Traitor Beside Them
No one moved.
Daniel’s warning repeated.
“One of the people helping Claire is reporting to Voss.”
Claire looked first at Kessler, then Noah.
The two men stared at each other.
Kessler reached slowly toward his jacket.
Noah raised his sidearm.
“Keep your hand where I can see it.”
“I’m reaching for my phone.”
“Put it on the table.”
Kessler obeyed.
Claire’s thoughts raced. Noah had been Daniel’s closest friend, but Kessler had led them directly into Voss’s building. Either man could have been feeding information to the colonel.
Emma held the bear.
“Daddy didn’t say the bad person was here.”
Claire looked down at her.
“What do you mean?”
“He said someone helping you.”
Emma pointed toward the security camera.
“The lady at the church helped us.”
General Ward.
Claire remembered Daniel’s earlier instruction.
Trust Evelyn Ward only if she speaks to you alone.
Ward had spoken to them alone in the chapel office. She had also ordered Noah to use the hidden passage. Without her, Voss would already have the bear.
But Daniel’s warning might have been recorded months earlier, before anyone knew exactly who would be present.
Colonel Voss’s voice filled the room again.
“Mrs. Hale, Sergeant Reed has placed your daughter in danger. Open the door and I will guarantee your protection.”
Noah looked toward the speaker.
“He knew I was here before Kessler accessed the terminal.”
Kessler picked up his phone and showed them the screen.
“No signal. The building blocks outside communication.”
“How did Voss know?” Claire asked.
Noah examined the room.
“The bear.”
Emma tightened her arms around it.
“No.”
“Not intentionally,” Noah said. “The device may be transmitting whenever it activates.”
Kessler moved toward the terminal and checked the network log.
“There. A low-frequency signal went out three seconds before the alarm.”
Claire felt sick.
Daniel had designed Captain Snow to reveal evidence, but someone else had learned how to track it.
“Can you stop the signal?”
“Not without opening the main device. That may destroy whatever is inside.”
The electronic lock clicked.
Military police would enter within moments.
Noah looked at the ceiling.
“Maintenance shaft.”
Kessler pulled a chair beneath an air vent. He removed the grille and pushed Emma’s small backpack into the opening.
“Emma first.”
Claire lifted her daughter.
Emma refused to release the bear.
“Captain Snow comes with me.”
Noah helped her into the shaft.
Claire followed, then Kessler. Noah entered last and replaced the grille.
Below them, the door opened.
Colonel Voss entered the records room.
Through the vent, Claire saw him approach the empty desk.
One of the officers handed him the shepherd insignia. Claire had forgotten it in the terminal slot.
Voss turned it over in his hand.
“They found Winter Shelter 6,” he said.
A military police officer asked, “Should we notify Director One?”
“Not yet.”
Voss looked toward the ceiling.
“The child is carrying the transmitter. They cannot go far.”
Claire covered Emma’s mouth gently before the girl could speak.
Voss continued.
“Contact our person inside Ward’s office. Tell them to prepare the recovery team.”
The traitor was not Noah or Kessler.
Someone close to General Ward was sending Voss information.
They crawled through the maintenance system and emerged in an underground loading bay.
Kessler used a service vehicle to force open the exit gate.
Noah took the wheel.
As they drove away, Claire studied Captain Snow.
Daniel had placed the device inside a child’s toy because he believed no one would suspect it. But Voss had anticipated the delivery.
“Why did Daniel trust the bear to reach us?” she asked.
Noah watched the road.
“Because Daniel knew you would refuse to surrender it.”
“That does not answer my question.”
Kessler looked back from the passenger seat.
“He did not only trust you. The device must require Emma.”
“To activate the recordings?”
“And perhaps to unlock the main evidence.”
Emma ran her finger over the bear’s blue ribbon.
“Daddy used to sing to Captain Snow.”
Claire remembered.
Every night before deployment, Daniel sang the same four lines to Emma. It was a simple song he had invented about a bear guarding a snowy mountain.
“Emma,” Claire said, “can you sing Captain Snow’s song?”
The child hesitated, then began softly.
“Over the hill where the cold winds blow,
Wait for the star beneath the snow.
Guard every promise, keep every name,
And bring the lost ones home again.”
The bear’s eyes illuminated.
A hidden compartment opened in its back.
Inside was a folded strip of transparent material covered in tiny markings.
Noah held it toward the light.
“A microfilm key.”
A final recorded message began.
“Claire, you found the first key. Do not go directly to Winter Shelter 6. The location is a trap.”
Kessler cursed under his breath.
Daniel continued.
“The real evidence is hidden beneath the names of the dead.”
Noah glanced toward Claire.
“The memorial wall.”
Daniel’s voice became urgent.
“Do not trust anyone wearing a silver compass.”
May you like
Kessler looked down.
Pinned beneath his jacket collar was a small silver compass.
