Forty-five seconds later, the official drone feed resumed.
It showed Claire moving toward the western ridge.
It did not show why.
Reynolds sat perfectly still.
“What exactly did Miller copy?”
“Raw local surveillance buffer, command audio, and the checkpoint system log. He knew central command could overwrite the network archive.”
“And you never opened it?”
“I couldn’t. It’s encrypted to the mission system.”
“Then how do you know it contains what you think?”
“Because Miller told me what he was copying. And because my father just recognized it.”
Reynolds rubbed both hands over his face.
“Claire, if this authenticates…”
“I know.”
“It destroys the prosecution’s timeline.”
“It does more than that.”
She looked at the wall.
“It proves my father left them there.”
The closed session began six hours later inside a secure courtroom. The press, most staff, and uncleared family members were excluded. Sarah Miller, David Hayes Sr., and Jenkins’s widow were allowed to remain in a waiting area but not enter until classification issues were resolved.
Cleared technicians mounted the drive on an isolated system.
For thirty seconds, nothing happened.
Then the file directory appeared.
Richard Vance’s face went white.
The first item was the raw surveillance buffer.
Judge Harrison watched the missing forty-five seconds.
The helicopter dropped into Checkpoint Echo through smoke.
Masked personnel exited.
Claire ran toward Miller at the communications shelter.
Miller handed her something.
An operator grabbed Claire’s arm.
She pulled free.
