Chapter 2
The double doors clicked shut, leaving behind an oppressive, heavy silence that enveloped the sterile room.
General Sterling turned back toward the hospital bed, his black boots clicking softly on the clean linoleum floor.
The US flag mounted on the wall framed his commanding silhouette as he adjusted his beige military jacket.
"How much pain are you in, Agent Vance?" Sterling asked, his voice softening just a fraction.
"I can handle the leg, General," Chloe replied, her voice raspy and thin as she adjusted her pale pink gown.
"Did Ryan manage to locate the encrypted drive before your team intercepted him?"
Sterling pulled a heavy leather-bound folder from beneath his arm and placed it gently on the bedside table.
"My men secured the Virginia location twenty minutes ago," Sterling revealed, his eyes darkening with grave concern.
"However, the drive wasn't in the safe where you said you hid it."
Chloe's heart rate monitor spiked instantly, its electronic beeping accelerating into a erratic rhythm.
"That's impossible," she gasped, her hands trembling against the bedsheets.
"I placed the hard drive inside the steel floor safe myself before the ambush in Alexandria!"
Sterling leaned down, resting his calloused hands on the chrome bed rail.
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"Someone else cleared out that safe before my tactical unit arrived on the scene, Chloe," Sterling stated softly.
"And they left behind a specialized silver military coin stamped with the crest of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
