Daniel picked it up.
His father’s handwriting.
He recognized it immediately.
Daniel, if you’ve made it this far, I’m sorry.
Daniel’s fingers tightened around the paper.
He continued reading.
I hoped you would never have to see this room.
If you’re here, then the system above has been compromised.
And if the system has been compromised, it means the people I feared have finally succeeded.
Daniel swallowed.
Robert looked at him.
“Keep reading.”
Daniel did.
There are things I never told you because telling you would have made you a target.
I need you to understand one thing before anything else.
I did not abandon you.
Daniel stopped.
His eyes blurred.
He had spent sixteen years carrying that wound.
His father had left.
His father had disappeared.
His father had chosen work over family.
At least, that was the story Daniel had eventually forced himself to accept.
But now those words were sitting in front of him.
I did not abandon you.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire quietly looked away.
Robert gave him a moment.
Then Daniel continued.
When I realized what they were building, I tried to stop it.
They told me I was paranoid.
They told me the system was harmless.
They told me identity manipulation would only be used in emergencies.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
He knew where this was going.
They lied.
The next page contained a list.
Names.
Companies.
Government departments.
Airline executives.
Technology contractors.
Daniel recognized some of them.
Others were unfamiliar.
But one name appeared repeatedly.
Richard Voss.
Daniel stared.
Robert noticed.
“Elena’s father.”
Daniel nodded.
Thomas had worked with Richard Voss.
For years.
The photograph upstairs had shown them standing side by side.
But the next page changed everything.
Richard Voss did not create the system.
He learned how to control it.
Daniel read the sentence again.
Then:
And he wasn’t alone.
A second name appeared.
Daniel Cross.
Daniel froze.
“What?”
Robert leaned over.
“Your name?”
Daniel looked at the document.
His father’s handwriting continued.
If they ever use your identity, do not assume they chose you because of your position.
They chose you because you are the only person who can activate the original safeguard.
Daniel looked up.
“The safeguard.”
Claire stepped closer.
“What safeguard?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
He turned the page.
The next paragraph was shorter.
Your identity was created as a key.
Daniel’s face went pale.
Robert stared.
“Created?”
Daniel nodded.
“That’s what the system said.”
Claire whispered:
“So your identity wasn’t stolen.”
Daniel looked at her.
“No.”
“It was designed.”
Daniel nodded.
“For this.”
Suddenly, one of the monitors changed.
The airport security feed disappeared.
A live camera appeared.
It showed Counter 17.
Claire stared.
The counter was empty.
The torn pieces of Daniel’s ticket were still sitting on the desk.
Then someone entered the frame.
A man.
Tall.
Dark jacket.
He walked to the counter and picked up the pieces of paper.
Daniel watched closely.
The man turned toward the camera.
His face was visible.
Daniel stopped breathing.
It was him.
Not similar.
Not close.
Him.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same scar.
The same expression.
Robert stepped backward.
“What the hell?”
Claire whispered:
“That’s the man from the old photograph.”
Daniel nodded.
The man on the screen looked directly into the camera.
Then smiled.
He raised one of the torn ticket pieces.
And held it toward the lens.
Daniel’s phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED AT THE COUNTER.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFER.
Then:
NOW YOU KNOW TOO MUCH.
Robert looked at him.
“Can we trace it?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not yet.”
The monitor flickered.
The man disappeared.
The camera returned to the empty counter.
Then every monitor in the room displayed the same message.
PHASE TWO — SUBJECT LOCATED
Daniel looked around.
“Someone knows we’re here.”
Robert pulled out his radio.
“We need security.”
Daniel stopped him.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if they wanted us dead, they wouldn’t have shown us the room.”
Claire looked at him.
“Then what do they want?”
Daniel stared at his father’s note.
“They want me to find something.”
He walked toward the largest monitor.
“What?”
Daniel looked at the system.
“My father.”
At 10:48 a.m., Elena Voss was sitting in her office when her computer suddenly went black.
She frowned.
She tried to restart it.
Nothing.
Then the screen came alive.
A single message appeared.
YOUR FATHER WAS RIGHT.
Elena froze.
Her father had been dead for eight years.
She had spent her entire career trying to separate herself from his reputation.
Richard Voss had been brilliant.
Influential.
Respected.
And, according to the official records, one of the architects of the airport’s modern security infrastructure.
He had also been the man who taught Elena never to trust a computer completely.
She had always thought it was an eccentric warning.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
Another message appeared.
ASK DANIEL CROSS ABOUT 2009.
Elena stared.
She picked up her phone.
She called Daniel.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then she received a call from an unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice said:
“Do you know where Daniel is?”
Elena stood.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who wants you to understand what’s happening.”
“Where is he?”
“These are pressure devices.”
Robert understood.
“The room isn’t going to explode.”
Daniel nodded.
“Someone wants us to think it will.”
“Then what happens?”
Daniel looked at the map.
“If we disarm this room, another one activates.”
Claire walked over.
“Then we can’t disarm them.”
“No.”
“What can we do?”
Daniel looked at the system.
“Transfer.”
Robert frowned.
“Transfer what?”
“The trigger.”
Daniel selected the option.
A destination appeared.
GATE 41
Daniel froze.
“They want us back there.”
Claire looked frightened.
“Why?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Because Gate 41 is the real activation site.”
At 11:03 a.m., across the airport, the man wearing Daniel Cross’s identity walked into the executive operations center.
Nobody stopped him.
His badge worked.
Popular Posts
→- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Recently Viewed
Stories you read recently will appear here.
