Chapter 44 - Beneath Grayhaven
The anonymous message remained on the secure terminal.
The final archive is waiting beneath Grayhaven.
No sender.
No digital fingerprint.
No route.
The Grayhaven Bureau's cybersecurity division spent nearly an hour attempting to trace the transmission. Every attempt failed.
"It doesn't exist," one analyst finally admitted.
Mercer frowned.
"What do you mean it doesn't exist?"
"The message entered our isolated system without crossing any monitored network."
Director Collins folded his arms.
"Then it was delivered from inside."
The room grew quiet.
Arthur looked at the glowing screen one last time before turning away.
"Not necessarily."
Mercer glanced toward him.
"You have another explanation?"
Arthur nodded.
"It could have been prepared years ago."
The analysts exchanged puzzled looks.
Arthur continued.
"Some communication systems allow delayed delivery when specific conditions are met."
"You think someone anticipated this exact moment?"
"I think someone anticipated that eventually..." Arthur paused, "...someone honest would reach this point."
Collins immediately requested the original construction records for Grayhaven Bureau Headquarters.
Within twenty minutes, an archivist arrived carrying blueprints older than anyone in the room.
The headquarters had been expanded five separate times over sixty years.
Arthur carefully compared every revision.
Then he stopped.
"The basement."
Mercer leaned closer.
"What about it?"
"The dimensions don't match."
One blueprint showed a storage level extending nearly thirty feet farther than the current building plans.
Yet the additional space no longer appeared in any modern records.
"It was removed," Mercer said.
Arthur shook his head.
"No."
"It was hidden."
Three maintenance workers confirmed there had always been rumors of sealed tunnels beneath the oldest wing of the headquarters, but no one had ever located an entrance.
Arthur slowly walked toward the original evidence vault.
His eyes settled on the floor beneath a row of heavy filing cabinets.
"The entrance isn't missing."
He smiled faintly.
May you like
"It's been covered by ordinary furniture for decades."
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