“I know,” I said. “Apex Horizon is involved.”

He shook his head slowly, looking toward the stairs as if checking to see if we were being watched.

The light on the secure wall phone near the door began to flash a bright, silent red.

The red light pulsed against the damp concrete wall, casting a rhythmic glow over the metal filing cabinets.

Albright didn’t move to answer it.

He stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the plastic casing of the wall unit as it beeped twice, a low, flat tone that signaled an internal priority transfer.

“That is the liaison office,” Albright said, his voice flat.

“They know you are here?” I asked.

“They know I am looking into the Apex ledger,” he said.

He reached out and pressed the button to mute the ringer, but the red light kept blinking, a silent, angry heartbeat in the corner of the room.

“The Deputy Secretary of Defense called me three times before I left my office,” he said, turning back to me.

“He wanted to know why an internal audit was being run on Cole’s command budget.”