Vance's voice dropped.
“You did.”
The words were almost impossible to understand.
Naomi shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're saying I ordered my own memory erased?”
“You did.”
“Why?”
“Because you discovered the identity of the person controlling Northstar.”
“Who?”
Vance looked toward the closed door.
Then at Atlas.
“The person who controlled Northstar was not outside the government.”
Naomi waited.
Vance continued.
“They were inside it.”
“Who?”
He looked directly at her.
“The director who signed your clearance.”
Naomi's eyes narrowed.
“Which director?”
Vance said the name.
Naomi knew it.
Everyone in federal investigations knew it.
And suddenly the entire story made sense.
The missing files.
The altered records.
The disappearing evidence.
The sheriff's department.
Victor Harlan.
The private contractor.
The planted drugs.
Mercer's fear.
Daniel's silence.
Northstar.
They were not separate events.
They were pieces of the same machine.
A machine built to erase investigations before they became public.
Naomi looked at Daniel.
“You knew.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I knew there was someone above Victor.”
“But you didn't know who.”
“No.”
Vance interrupted.
“I knew.”
Naomi looked at him.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you made me promise.”
“When?”
“Before the procedure.”
Naomi stared.
“You made me promise to tell you only when the network became active again.”
“And now?”
Vance nodded.
“It became active three days ago.”
Naomi thought about the message on Mercer's phone.
Northstar.
Three days ago.
The brake line.
The planted evidence.
The SUV.
Everything had started three days ago.
She looked at Atlas.
The dog was staring at Vance.
Not growling now.
Watching.
Naomi noticed.
“Atlas knows you.”
Vance's face changed.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He was there.”
“Where?”
“Baltimore.”
Naomi stepped closer.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“With Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“With the shooter?”
Vance hesitated.
“No.”
“Then who was the shooter?”
Vance looked away.
Naomi's voice became sharper.
“Who?”
Vance finally said:
“Someone wearing my face.”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
Vance's expression was grim.
“There were two identities operating under my name.”
Naomi stared.
“Why?”
“Because the real Vance had been compromised.”