Colonel Whitaker was speaking in hushed, urgent tones with Sterling.

I could hear fragments of their conversation.

“The Senate committee,” Sterling was saying. “They will have these by tonight.”

“We need to contact the board,” the Colonel replied, his voice strained. “If the primary contract is suspended…”

He stopped when he saw me looking at him.

His eyes were hard, but the defeat in them was unmistakable.

The foundation of his empire had just cracked.

My phone screen lit up again in my hand.

It was an email from the Assistant Attorney General’s office.

The subject line was short: *Emergency Review Initiated.*

I tapped the screen and read the brief text.

“The Senate Committee on Armed Services has just scheduled an emergency hearing for tomorrow morning,” I told Ethan.

He didn’t move.

He just kept looking at the heavy double doors where Cassandra had disappeared.

Across the well of the courtroom, Colonel Whitaker’s face lost its remaining color.

Sterling, his attorney, looked down at his own tablet, his fingers tapping the screen rapidly.

“It’s already on the wire,” Sterling muttered, his voice carrying in the quiet room.