PART 2: Chapter 12 - THE FILE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BURNED
Three weeks after Emily's wedding, Sarah Mitchell finally began to believe that her life might become ordinary.
She was wrong.
The small house David had helped her rent outside Seattle had become unexpectedly peaceful. Every morning, Sarah drank coffee on the back porch while watching the fog lift from the trees. For the first time in decades, she woke without nightmares.
Her daughter called every evening.
Sometimes they talked for an hour.
Sometimes they simply stayed on the phone in silence.
It was enough.
Sarah had spent thirty-two years believing she had lost everything because of one failed aircraft.
Now she had Emily back.
She had her name back.
Her rank had been restored.
The world finally knew she hadn't been responsible for the Wraith disaster.
But on a cold Thursday morning, everything changed.
A black government SUV stopped outside her house.
Sarah watched through the window as a man in a dark suit stepped out.
He didn't knock immediately.
Instead, he looked around the neighborhood.
Sarah's instincts sharpened.
She opened the door before he could knock.
"Colonel Mitchell?"
"Retired."
"Not anymore."
The man produced a federal identification card.
His name was Daniel Mercer.
Special Investigator, Department of Justice.
Sarah crossed her arms.
"What do you want?"
Mercer lowered his voice.
"We found another file."
Her stomach tightened.
"What file?"
"The Wraith investigation."
Sarah stared at him.
"The reports were unredacted."
"Most of them."
"Most?"
Mercer looked toward the road.
"There was one document missing."
Sarah felt a familiar chill crawl across her shoulders.
"What document?"
"A flight-control modification order."
She said nothing.
Mercer continued.
"It was signed forty-eight hours before your final Wraith test."
Sarah's face went pale.
"I never saw it."
"We know."
He reached inside his coat.
But instead of pulling out a folder, he produced a photograph.
Sarah took it.
The image showed the Wraith prototype sitting on the Edwards Air Force Base runway.
There was nothing unusual about it.
Until Sarah noticed the handwritten markings on the aircraft's hydraulic access panel.
Her breathing stopped.
"I know those markings."
Mercer nodded.
"They were made by you."
"No."
"You wrote them during the final inspection."
Sarah stared harder.
Then she saw the date.
June 14, 1994.
Two days before the crash.
"I didn't write this."
Mercer studied her.
"That's exactly why I'm here."
Sarah looked up.
"Who did?"
Mercer hesitated.
"Someone who had access to your personal maintenance notebook."
Sarah's heart began pounding.
Only one person had ever possessed that notebook.
Her former flight engineer.
Captain Daniel Hayes.
Hayes had died twenty-six years ago.
At least, that was what Sarah had been told.
Mercer reached into his pocket and handed her another photograph.
This one was recent.
A grainy security image.
A man stood outside a federal archive building.
Older.
Gray-haired.
But unmistakably familiar.
Sarah's fingers trembled.
"That's impossible."
Mercer whispered,
"Colonel... Daniel Hayes is alive."
Sarah looked at the photograph again.
And then she noticed the man wasn't alone.
Standing beside him was someone Sarah had never expected to see again.
Arthur Vance.
The general who had destroyed her career.
The man who was supposed to be sitting in federal custody.
Mercer leaned closer.
"They escaped custody six hours ago."
Sarah's blood ran cold.
"And they're looking for something."
"What?"
Mercer looked directly into her eyes.
"You."
Then Sarah's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed Emily's name.
Sarah answered immediately.
"Emily?"
There was silence.
Then her daughter's terrified voice whispered,
"Mom..."
A crash sounded in the background.
And Emily screamed.
"Someone is inside the house."
The line went dead.
Sarah dropped the phone.
Mercer was already reaching for his weapon.
Outside, an engine roared.
A black SUV disappeared around the corner.
Sarah grabbed her coat.
"Take me to my daughter."
Mercer looked at her.
"Colonel, we may already be too late."
May you like
Sarah's eyes hardened.
"Then we'd better fly."
