My heart hammered against my ribs, but my hands remained steady.

“Lower the weapon, Natalie,” Hayes said.

“I cannot do that, sir,” I said.

“This is a family matter, Marcus,” my father said, nodding toward the desk.

“It stopped being a family matter when you brought the military into it,” I said.

I tapped the paper on the desk with my left index finger.

“I have the transfer orders, Colonel. Your signature is right here.”

“The cryptographic key matches your personal security terminal.”

Hayes did not look surprised.

He did not deny it.

He simply stared at me with his pale, unblinking blue eyes.

“You were never supposed to see those files, Captain,” Hayes said.

“Why?” I asked. “Why would you risk everything for this?”

“My career is perfectly secure,” Hayes said. “Your father’s civilian distribution network is highly efficient.”

“It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“And the poison?” I asked, my voice rising. “The toxin that almost killed my sister?”

Hayes looked past me to Madison, who was shivering behind the desk.

“That was an unfortunate complication,” Hayes said.