I felt the smooth plastic of the auxiliary input jack.

“You made me believe I was broken,” I said.

“You made me spend my entire life trying to prove I was strong enough for the Army.”

“And you succeeded,” Caroline said.

“You went into the regular officer corps.”

“You were safe from the black budget programs because you were too visible.”

“The military hierarchy protected you from Voss’s reach.”

“Until Raymond broke his own rules and left that file in his desk.”

She took another step, her shadow falling over me.

“Give me the drive, Natalie.”

“We can end this tonight.”

“I will take the drive to Voss, secure Raymond’s release, and we will disappear.”

“The program will continue, but we will be out of its shadow.”

I felt the small, raised toggle switch on the underside of the terminal.

It was the manual override for the bunker’s security protocols.

My father had designed these terminals forty years ago.

He always left a physical bypass in his hardware.

“What about Mara?” I asked, keeping my voice steady.

“What about the people Voss killed to keep this secret?”