Chapter 13 - The Room Beneath the Room
Marcus could barely stand. Mercer cut the restraints while Ward checked his pulse. His first question was whether Olivia was safe. When Avery said yes, he pressed both hands over his face and sobbed once, quickly, like he was embarrassed by it.
“Tell us where Emma is,” Avery said.
“Sublevel two, under the flight-control annex. They keep moving her because she memorized the passcodes.”
“Who's running this?”
Marcus looked toward Ward. “Tell her about Colonel Rourke.”
Ward shook her head. “I don't know enough.”
“He knew the fraud existed before the ninth flight took off,” Marcus said. “He signed the emergency authorization. I saw the order.”
Avery's stomach sank. Rourke had told them he was investigating. He had never mentioned approving a flight.
“He said he thought the parts were certified,” Marcus continued. “Maybe he did. But when we found out, he helped them hide the evidence for six months.”
Mercer gripped the back of a chair until the metal creaked. “My brother was on that flight.”
“I know,” Marcus said. “He was the one who reported the vibration. He saved us from a crash. They altered his death date to keep his name off the record.”
Avery wished she could offer Mercer a sentence that would make any of that easier. None existed.
Ruiz unplugged two drives from the servers. “We've got enough to prove the inspections were forged. But the master signing record is locked.”
“Emma knows the second half of the password,” Marcus said.
An alarm lit up above the door. Ward checked her radio. “They're sealing the sublevels.”
Avery took the access card. She could leave with evidence or go deeper for her sister. She looked at the people beside her, then at the corridor disappearing under the annex.
May you like
“I'm going down,” she said.
Mercer answered without hesitation. “Then we're going down together.”
