Chapter 5 - The Gathering Storm
The next forty-eight hours passed in a blur of forensic preparation.
Working from a secure room at the National Defense University provided by General Sterling, I was joined by Major Daniel Cruz, a razor-sharp investigator from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
Cruz had spent the last two days combing through the financial records Mera had supplied, cross-referencing them with Pentagon procurement databases.
"It’s not just defective tourniquets, Penny," Cruz said, tossing a thick red folder onto the conference table. He had dark circles under his eyes, but his hands were steady with adrenaline. "Vance Strategic Solutions has been running a massive kickback operation for the last four years. Carson’s shell corporation in the Cayman Islands, Castor Holdings, received three separate deposits totaling four point two million dollars immediately following the certification of the Aegis Horizon testing trials."
"Who authorized the release of the Aegis prototype specs?" I asked, leaning over the blueprint schematics.
"Lieutenant General Vance-Kearney," Cruz answered, tapping a signature block on an acquisition form. "Kearney’s daughter works as an executive vice president at Carson’s PR subsidiary. It’s an incestuous web of insider trading, fraud, and supply chain sabotage. They weren't just smearing you to silence you, Penny. They realized that if Beckett took a personal interest in you, Beckett’s staff would audit your past operational reports. And if they audited your reports, they would find the supply failures Carson had buried."
"They were trying to decapitate my credibility before the audit could start," I realized, the full scope of the conspiracy locking into focus.
"Exactly," Cruz said. "Carson got panicked. When a narcissist panics, he overreaches. He pushed the Kunar leak through a junior staffer named Higgins. We traced the IP address of the leak back to a terminal registered to Vance Strategic’s lobbying office on K Street. Higgins is currently sitting in a federal interview room in Baltimore singing like a canary."
"Does Carson know?"
"Not yet," Cruz said, a grim smile touching his lips. "Carson is currently preparing for his victory lap. Tonight is the annual Defense Technology Gala at the Mayflower Hotel. The Secretary of the Army is scheduled to announce the preliminary contractor selection for Aegis Horizon at 2100 hours. Carson thinks he's walking into his coronation."
"And the inquiry board tomorrow morning?"
"That’s his insurance policy to make sure you're silenced before the contract is officially signed," Cruz said. "General Beckett has already briefed the Department of Justice. But we need a smoking gun that links Carson directly to the document alteration. Mera has the physical ledger, but the hard drives are locked in Carson’s private vault at the Great Falls estate."
My phone rang. The screen displayed my sister Lydia’s name.
I stepped away from the table and answered. "Lydia?"
"Penny..." Her voice was shaking, muffled by the sound of muffled weeping. "You have to help me."
"Where are you?"
"I’m at the estate," she whispered. "Carson... he went crazy. He found out Mera contacted you. He came home an hour ago, screaming at Mother, tearing his study apart. He told her that if everything falls apart, he’s taking the family down with him. He said Mother was the one who authorized the initial trust fund transfer that funded Castor Holdings."
My blood ran cold. "Where is Carson now?"
"He left for the Mayflower gala," Lydia sobbed. "Penny, he left his private travel safe open in the study. There are three external hard drives and a black notebook with handwritten transaction codes. He told me to pack a bag and meet him at Dulles Airport after the gala. He has a private charter booked for Zurich at midnight."
"Lydia, listen to me very carefully," I said, my voice cutting through her panic like a scalpel. "Do not touch the bag. Do not leave the house. Major Cruz and federal marshals are on their way to the estate right now. Give them the drives. Do you understand me? Save yourself."
A long, trembling pause came from the other end.
"I spent my whole life being afraid of him, Penny," Lydia whispered, her voice suddenly finding a quiet resolve. "I watched him destroy Mera. I watched him try to destroy you. I won't let him do it anymore. The gate code is 4492. Tell the marshals I’ll have the safe contents waiting in the foyer."
May you like
"Good girl," I said softly. "Hold the line, Lydia. It’s almost over."
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