Chapter 32 - Two Hours
The countdown changed everything.
For the first time since the gray suitcase had been opened, every person in the room shared the same deadline.
Two hours.
Marcus looked at the digital clock mounted above the operations center.
If the prediction from Archive Node 3 was accurate, Samuel Whitmore would walk into the airport before anyone truly understood why he mattered.
Dana immediately reorganized the investigation.
"No one leaves this room alone."
She pointed toward the evidence table.
"The archives stay together."
Then toward the interview rooms.
"Victor stays under constant observation."
Finally, she looked at Marcus.
"And you find Samuel before anyone else does."
Marcus nodded.
The communications team searched airline databases.
Only one passenger named Samuel Whitmore appeared on today's schedules.
Flight 482.
Estimated arrival:
1 hour, 56 minutes.
Arthur frowned.
"Too obvious."
Marcus looked at him.
"You think it's a decoy?"
Arthur slowly nodded.
"Daniel never trusted schedules."
Eleanor quietly removed a folded family photograph from her purse.
It showed Samuel at sixteen years old, smiling beside a mountain lake.
"He looks different now," she whispered.
"I haven't seen him in years."
Marcus accepted the photograph.
"How recently was this taken?"
"Almost four years ago."
Dana sighed.
"So we may not recognize him."
Before anyone spoke again, another alert appeared on the technician's screen.
PASSENGER RECORD UPDATED.
Samuel Whitmore's reservation had just been modified.
No destination.
No assigned gate.
No boarding history.
Only one line remained.
STATUS: ESCORT REQUIRED.
Marcus looked toward Arthur.
"Does that mean protection?"
Arthur answered quietly.
May you like
"Or custody."
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