I slapped the front door shut behind me and flipped the deadbolt. On my way to the kitchen, I stopped to peer through the drapes, my eyes searching the street beyond the window. It was quiet and I could see nothing out of the ordinary. It appeared that I wasn't followed, at least that I could see. Turning away from the window, I continued across the living room and through the kitchen, stopping to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, before heading down the hallway to my office. Through the door and to the desk where I dropped my ass into the worn, duct tape patched rolling chair. The office is cluttered, the chair patched, the furniture surrounding me scratched and worn. The laptop sitting on my desk was another matter. It was less than six months old and state of the art. Built to my specification and secure as anything at the Pentagon. The work I do requires that I send data over a secure network. It would come in handy now because what I needed to send Holly was sensitive and I didn't want anyone to know what I was sending her. I took a swig of water before flicking the lid of the laptop open.

As I waited for the laptop to boot up my fingers went to the bun atop my head and picked it apart. Once my hair was free, I reached into my pocket and removed my phone and popped the memory card free. The information on the card was vital and Holly needed to know the truth. If I couldn't make it to the cabin for some reason the information needed to get to her. I couldn't risk waiting to hand it over in person. I slipped the memory card into the slot on the computer.

"Email. Email." The mouse pointer moved across the screen and I clicked on the browser and signed into my email. My fingers flew over the keys and my lips moved as I composed the email. "Holly, I know this email is little compensation for an explanation in person, but it will have to do. If I can't make it to the cabin this will explain everything you need to know. The attached file explains what you need to know about the Rise Project. You must do everything in your power to keep Lazaro hidden and out of the military's grasp. Once you've read everything in the file you'll understand why it's so important. Be well and stay safe. All my love, Caroline." I attached the file and hit send without any hesitation. A second passed and it was gone. That was all I could do for the moment. I yanked the memory card free of the laptop and stared at it. It should be destroyed, but the information it contained about the project was important. I needed to get it to my contacts now that I'd passed it on to Holly. It was bad enough I'd kept it on my phone for as long as I had.

I rose from the chair and moved across the room where I bent and shove the card beneath the warped edge of the bookshelf where it didn't quite meet the floor. As I straightened the doorbell rang and a frown touched my lips. I wasn't expecting anyone. My eyes went back to the floor and the corner of the bookshelf. The card was out of sight. There was nothing more I could do with it for the moment so I went to answer the door.

A look through the peephole revealed Colonel Sturm standing on my doorstep. There was no reason for him to visit me, I'd been dismissed for the day. His presence wasn't a good sign. After a deep breath, I unlocked and pulled open the door.

"Hello, Colonel, this is a surprise."

"I imagine it is." He didn't bother waiting for an invite to come inside, no, he simply pushed his way past me into the house. "You have a lovely home. Very quaint."

The man had stepped inside and his gaze remained fixed on me. I doubted he had looked at anything inside my home. "How can I help you, sir? Did I forget something before I left for the day? I was going to do a little work on the participant files before calling it a day."

"Are you certain that was all you were planning on doing?"

"Sir, I'm not sure I understand. Have I done something wrong?"

He pulled his hat from his head and tucked it beneath his arm. His silver-tipped hair still in perfect order despite the hat. The flint gray of his eyes piercing as he stared down at me. "After you gave me the file on Holly Monrow I did some digging of my own. The young lady is the daughter of a good friend of yours, isn't she? You know her rather well."

"I don't know what it is you're trying to insinuate, sir, but I had no idea she and Lazurus One were acquainted. Hell, I didn't even know she was a volunteer at the hospital until now. I didn't believe our relationship was important, considering I had no idea she had even been to the hospital."

"Are you quite certain about that?"

I was. Holly's appearance in that video of Lazaro escaping had been a bit of a shock. Her mother should have let me know she was volunteering at the hospital I would have warned her against developing any kind of relationship with Lazaro. Not that I was complaining now that she'd freed.

"What would you like me to say, sir? Should I say I knew, that I wished for this to happen. Do you think I wanted Lazurus One to escape? I think that's a bit harsh. Have I ever shown any disloyalty to you or the project?"

He shook his head. "I've never heard you say anything that shows you had doubts about the project. However, it doesn't mean you don't find problems and it doesn't mean you aren't disloyal. That you aren't a subversive element within the project or my unit. Tell me, Captain, where are the files?"

Panic poked at me, but I forced myself to remain calm. A slow blink, a tip of my head and I stared at him in what I hoped was a look that conveyed extreme confusion. "Would you like the participant files, sir? They're on my computer I can email them to you."

"No. I want the project files. All of them. Someone logged into the computer system several weeks ago and copied all of the files for the Rise Project."

"And you think it was me?" I asked him, trying hard to hold on to the confusion. It could mean my life if I didn't make him believe I was innocent.

"It was your login."

I snorted. "Do I strike you as completely inept, sir? If I was going to copy files why would I use my login and leave a trail right to my doorstep? Anyone could have discovered my login and used it to frame me." The panic was threatening to overwhelm me now. I wasn't stupid and I hadn't used my login. Either the Colonel was bluffing, trying to trap me, or someone else inside the project stole the same information I had.

"You've never struck me as stupid, Captain. There is a first time for everything though. How about you tell me about this man." He pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture.

It took everything I had not to react. My contact in the underground. "Should I know him, sir?"

"Leander Holmes."

"Sir?"

"This man is the leader of an underground movement. Their goal is to undermine government projects like Rise. They're terrorists threatening the government."

They weren't, not by a long shot. They aimed to end government secrecy. Projects like Rise that were kept hidden. A dirty little secret no one knew about. Even the participants of Rise were in the dark about what exactly had been done to them. They'd been promised a cure for their life-threatening ailments, but what they got was far worse than any illness they were suffering from.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never met that man. I have been and always will remain loyal to my command."

"I am sorry, Captain, but I simply can't take the risk." He removed his hat from beneath his arm and placed it back on his head. "This project is too important."

"Are you removing me from the project? That isn't fair! I did nothing wrong! I'm telling you I was framed!" I needed to be on the inside. Needed to know what was happening. If I couldn't feed Lea information how could they bring down the project?

"Yes, removing you permanently. I don't need the worry of a security breach."

I didn't expect his next move. Couldn't have anticipated it, even knowing what I know about him. Even knowing what a cold, unfeeling bastard he is, murder wasn't what I expected. The moment his fingers wrapped around my throat I knew it was over. I could fight, I'd been trained to, but this man cared little about a few scratches from my fingernails or bruises from my kicking feet. Unfeeling, cold, emotionless prick. As my lungs fought for air, my thought was for Holly and Lazaro. They were safe. Far from his reach and they had all the information they needed to know they should maintain distance from Colonel Sturm.

Darkness closed in, the fight left me, and my eyes slid shut. Thoughts scattered and I knew this was my final breath.

Sturm released his hold and let the Captain's body fall to the floor. "Shame, she was a good soldier." He adjusted his hat, glanced around the room, and strode through the house to the office where he snatched up her computer before turning and leaving. "Sad she chose to live in a crime-ridden neighborhood. Victim of a break-in." He hummed as he left the house.