Page 274 of Broken Oath

Metal chair.

Camera mounted in the corner.

A drain beneath the floor.

Same room.

Same routine.

Different day.

The guard pointed at the chair.

Wade sat.

The restraints remained attached to the table, but neither guard used them.

That was another change.

The door closed behind him.

Silence settled over the room.

Then the opposite door opened.

Wade studied the man who entered.

He didn’t recognize him.

But he recognized the expression.

Fear.

The interrogators were usually arrogant. Confident. Certain the mountain made them untouchable.

This man was afraid.

That was new.

Very new.

The interrogator dropped a file onto the table. His hands trembled slightly.

Wade noticed everything.

The nervous glance at the camera.

The sweat along his hairline.

The pulse beating too quickly in his throat.

Something had changed outside the mountain.

The man opened the file.

Photographs spilled across the table.

Satellite images.