The screen flickered to life.

Lines of encrypted code began to scroll down the monitor.

I opened a secure messaging app.

I typed a single code word to Assistant Director Miller at the FBI.

We had been preparing for this transfer for weeks.

The federal authorities wanted the corruption ring destroyed as much as I did.

But they needed the hard evidence first.

They needed this physical drive and the conspirators in custody to make the charges stick.

The screen beeped.

A progress bar appeared: *Decrypting… 12%*.

I looked out the window.

Marco was standing by the transport van, waiting for my signal.

“We move in five minutes,” I radioed him.

“Copy that, Boss,” Marco replied.

I watched the decryption bar climb to thirty percent.

My fingers tapped against the steering wheel.

The data on this drive did not just implicate Eleanor and Sterling.

It reached much higher into the state administration.

Names of commissioners and federal judges were buried in these files.

I needed to ensure the transfer of custody went perfectly.

There could be no leaks.

No backroom deals to let them walk.