“Yes, she is here.”

“Understood.”

He handed the phone back to Merritt.

He looked at me, then at Cross.

“The Senate has just called an emergency oversight hearing,” Albright said.

“Senator Vance—no relation to you, I assume, Mr. Vance—has just called the Secretary of Defense.”

“All security clearances for Colonel Harrington and Major Cross are suspended.”

“Effective immediately.”

Cross took a step back, her hand falling away from her holster.

“This is a mistake,” she said, her voice rising.

“We were operating under verbal authorization from the Undersecretary.”

“Then you can explain that to the committee,” Albright said.

The door opened again.

Colonel Cole Harrington stood in the entryway.

His tie was slightly crooked, and his forehead was slick with sweat.

He had run from the Pentagon, his silver eagles catching the harsh light.

“Cole,” Cross said.

Cole looked at me, then at the safe behind Vance’s desk.

“Eleanor,” he said, his voice tight.

“What have you done?”

“I finished it, Cole,” I said.

“The lies from the valley.”

“The soldiers we left behind while you signed the shipping manifests.”