“It is over.”

Arthur looked down at the canvas bag.

“There are things in here that don’t belong to the government,” he said.

“They belong to the people who paid for them,” he added.

“You mean the foreign buyers,” I said.

I took one step into the room.

The wooden floorboard creaked beneath my boot.

“The buyers are gone, Arthur,” I said.

“The accounts have been frozen.”

Arthur’s hand tightened on the strap of the bag.

“Not all of them,” he said.

He reached into his pocket.

I drew my pistol, pointing it at his chest.

“Hand where I can see it,” I said.

My voice was steady, my training taking over.

Arthur stopped.

His hand remained inside his coat pocket.

He looked at me, a strange, desperate smile appearing on his face.

“You think you won, Allison,” he said.

“You think your General can protect you from what comes next,” he added.

“I don’t need protection,” I said.

“I need you to take your hand out of your pocket.”

The red light on the lockbox suddenly began to beep.

A slow, rhythmic sound that filled the quiet room.