He tapped a sequence of keys on the board.

A new window opened on the monitor.

It was a directory file, but it didn’t look like the Caldwell Systems interface.

The logo in the corner was a small, hand-drawn sketch of a wild rose.

I knew that logo.

It was Claire’s personal design, the one she used for her private archiving projects before her illness took her.

Nathan caught my gaze and gave a very slight, almost imperceptible nod.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, silver flash drive.

It was scratched and worn, the protective cap missing.

“I’m preparing the decryption package,” Nathan said into the microphone.

“It’s a large file.”

“It will take a moment to compile the security protocols.”

“Don’t lie to me, Nathan,” Vanessa warned.

“If I see any defensive firewalls active, Julian will light the lance.”

“No firewalls,” Nathan said.

“I am disabling the local network locks.”

He plugged the flash drive into the side of the terminal.

The screen flashed red once, then settled into a steady blue.

A progress bar appeared on the screen, but it didn’t say *Upload*.