Chapter 18 - Eli's Last Recording
Maya asked whether I wanted to listen privately. I shook my head. Tessa deserved to hear it beside me.
We sat in a small interview room, June safe with her grandmother. Atlas slept at my feet, one bandaged paw stretched over my boot.
Eli's voice filled the room.
"If this gets found, it's because I didn't make it back. The signal units are broadcasting our position. Nina and Becca both warned the company. Colonel Sloane ordered me to stop documenting it. He said Miles Voss was handling the repair. I don't believe him."
He paused. I heard fabric rustling as he tucked the recorder close to Atlas's harness.
"Nora called it out first. Her radio's dying, and command keeps telling us to trust the equipment. If anything goes wrong, it wasn't her decision. You hear me? It wasn't Nora."
Tessa covered her mouth. Tears slid through her fingers. My own chest hurt with the effort of breathing.
"Tell June I loved the way she laughs," Eli continued. "Tell her that when the night feels big, count four red stars and remember she's never alone. And tell Nora..."
The audio went quiet for a moment.
"Tell Nora she kept us human out there."
No final speech could have given Eli back to us. But his words returned something I had believed was gone forever: the truth about the man I loved as a brother, and the knowledge that he had trusted me at the end.
The next morning, federal investigators announced charges against Sloane and several collaborators. Voss remained missing. His company's bank accounts were frozen, and warrants covered the firmware records, financial transfers, and witness intimidation.
I stood outside the office when Maya called again.
"Nora, Voss attempted to cross the border under a false passport. Agents stopped him."
"So it's over?"
May you like
"The danger of him escaping is over," she said. "The legal work is just beginning."
Then she added, "And the Army has finally agreed to reopen your case."
