Chapter 12 - Every Step Was Watched
Elena reviewed twenty years of her career.
Assignments.
Promotions.
Recommendations.
Deployments.
Command opportunities.
At first nothing appeared unusual.
Then Matt noticed the signatures.
Three different senior officers had repeatedly appeared at pivotal moments in Elena's career.
All three had connections to Sentinel.
Ryan found the same pattern in his record.
So did Jake.
Chris.
Matt.
Their lives had been nudged toward the same installation.
The bar hadn't brought them together.
Something had been moving them toward one another for years.
Major Price discovered the final connection.
Every one of them had a parent or close relative connected to the original Sentinel program.
Jake's mother had been a nurse at North Ridge.
Chris's uncle had been military intelligence.
Matt's father maintained Sentinel's early computer systems.
They weren't random Marines.
They were second-generation subjects.
Elena stared at the board.
"Someone recreated the original group."
Price nodded.
"But why?"
Ryan looked at the photographs.
"Maybe they wanted to see what we'd do."
Matt frowned.
"Do about what?"
The answer arrived at 0214.
Every computer on the installation suddenly rebooted.
A message appeared.
SENTINEL PHASE TWO COMPLETE.
Then personnel records began uploading to an external server.
Thousands.
Medical histories.
Psychological assessments.
Family information.
Security clearances.
Elena immediately ordered the network physically disconnected.
Too late.
Seventy-two percent transferred.
Price traced the destination.
A private defense contractor.
HALCYON STRATEGIC SYSTEMS.
Ryan recognized the name.
Everyone did.
Halcyon supplied technology to multiple government agencies.
Elena contacted federal authorities.
Then she called Kessler from his hospital room.
"Halcyon."
Kessler went silent.
"You know them."
"Yes."
"Who runs Sentinel?"
Kessler breathed slowly.
"Not a person anymore."
Elena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"The original program became obsolete years ago."
"Then what are we fighting?"
Kessler answered.
"A system designed to identify people it can manipulate."
Ryan looked at Elena.
Kessler continued.
"And Elena?"
"Yes?"
"If Halcyon has activated Phase Two, the files aren't the objective."
"What is?"
"The command structure."
Elena's office door opened.
Colonel Mercer entered.
He looked terrified.
"Commander, we have a situation."
"Talk."
"The Pentagon just transmitted new orders."
He handed Elena the document.
She read it once.
Then again.
Ryan watched her face.
"What?"
Elena placed the document on the table.
Effective immediately, Commander Elena Graves was relieved of command.
Her replacement would arrive within six hours.
May you like
The name at the bottom made Margaret Graves laugh from across the room.
GENERAL MICHAEL GRAVES.
