Page 283 of Broken Oath

Wade kept his expression blank.

Madow.

A name.

A new piece.

The door burst open.

A black-uniformed operator stepped into the room. He was breathing hard, as if he had run the entire length of the facility.

“Sir.”

The interrogator turned sharply. “What?”

“The transfer has been approved.”

The room went silent.

Wade watched the operator.

The way he avoided looking directly at him.

The tension in his shoulders.

The fear in his eyes.

“By whom?” the interrogator asked.

“Director Madow gave Colonel Reeves final authority. All surviving prisoners are to be removed before zero three hundred.”

Ice settled into Wade’s chest.

Not fear.

Understanding.

“Transport leaves in six hours,” the operator continued.

The interrogator nodded.

“Good.”

But he didn’t sound relieved.

Neither man did.

Because this transfer wasn’t about security.

It was about erasing evidence.

Wade was returned to his cell ten minutes later.

The steel door slammed shut behind him.

The locks engaged.

He stood in the middle of the small room and listened until the guards’ footsteps disappeared.