Chapter 9: The Order From Twenty Years Ago
I stared at the photograph until the words blurred.
Abigail stood beside me.
“Mom?””
I couldn't answer.
Because the man beside my younger self wasn't General Hale.
It wasn't Ethan.
It wasn't Voss.
It was Lieutenant General Thomas Gardner.
My father.
Dead for seventeen years.
My hands began to shake.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Rachel.””
“Don't.””
He stopped.
I flipped the photograph over again.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My father's.
He had written that sentence.
But how?
He had died years before Abigail was born.
I looked at Ethan.
“Tell me everything.””
He hesitated.
“Your father was part of the original program.””
“What program?””
“The program that became Black Lantern.””
I felt sick.
“He was Army intelligence.””
“Yes.””
“He never told me.””
“He couldn't.””
“Or he wouldn't?””
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“Both.””
Abigail touched my arm.
“Mom, what was Black Lantern?””
I looked at the five rescued soldiers.
They were listening.
Marcus spoke quietly.
“The operation wasn't created to rescue us.””
I looked at him.
“What was it created for?””
“To erase us.””
Silence.
I looked around the underground facility.
The cameras.
The cells.
The medical equipment.
The records.
It all made sense now.
Black Lantern wasn't a failed rescue.
It was a cleanup operation.
The six soldiers had discovered something.
Something the Army wanted buried.
And I had been sent in because I was trusted enough to make the story believable.
I whispered,
“What did you discover?””
Marcus pointed toward Ethan.
“He found the files.””
Ethan nodded.
“Your father created an unauthorized archive.””
“Why?””
“To document human experimentation.””
Abigail's face went pale.
“On soldiers?””
Ethan nodded.
“On soldiers.””
I looked at the five men.
“Were you exposed intentionally?””
Marcus answered.
“Yes.””
My stomach turned.
“Who authorized it?””
Nobody spoke.
Then Cole Mercer said,
“Your father.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
“He signed the original authorization.””
“No.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Rachel.””
I backed away.
“My father would never.””
“He did.””
“He was a soldier.””
“So were we.””
The words hit me.
I looked again at the photograph.
My father beside me.
His hand resting on my shoulder.
The younger version of me smiling.
I remembered that day.
He had told me:
You're going to do great things.
I had thought he was proud.
Maybe he was.
Maybe he was terrified.
I opened my phone and searched the old military archives.
The file appeared.
*PROJECT LANTERN — FOUNDATIONAL AUTHORIZATION*
Authorizing officer:
*Lieutenant General Thomas Gardner.*
My breath caught.
Abigail looked over my shoulder.
“That's Grandpa.””
“Yes.””
“Why would he do that?””
“I don't know.””
Ethan answered.
“Because he believed the program could save thousands of soldiers.””
I turned.
“Save them from what?””
“From something worse.””
“What?””
Ethan pulled another document from his coat.
“The compound was designed to identify neurological damage before symptoms appeared.””
I frowned.
“And?””
“It worked.””
Marcus looked at me.
“But it also changed people.””
“How?””
“Memory loss.””
“Anything else?””
“Behavioral instability.””
“Anything else?””
Ethan hesitated.
“Some developed violent episodes.””
Abigail stared at him.
“And they used soldiers as test subjects.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the five men.
“Why did they keep you alive?””
Marcus answered.
“Because we survived.””
That sentence explained everything.
They hadn't been forgotten.
They had been monitored.
Studied.
Stored.
And when they refused to cooperate, they were locked underground.
I turned toward the exit.
“We're going to the FBI.””
Ethan shook his head.
“Not yet.””
“Why?””
“Because there's a mole.””
“Where?””
“Everywhere.””
He pointed toward the security system.
“Someone inside federal law enforcement has been feeding them information.””
Nicholas stepped forward.
“I know who.””
Everyone looked at him.
He swallowed.
“Agent Rebecca Sloan.””
Ethan's expression changed.
“How do you know?””
“She came to the Ferguson estate six weeks ago.””
“What did she do?””
“She met with my father.””
“And?””
“They gave her a list.””
“What list?””
Nicholas pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
He opened it.
There were names.
I scanned them.
Doctors.
Lawyers.
Military officers.
Federal agents.
Then I saw mine.
At the bottom.
*Colonel Rachel Gardner — eliminate after retrieval.*
Abigail saw it.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“They were going to kill you.””
I folded the paper.
“They tried.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
He pointed toward the last name.
“Look at that.””
I did.
The final entry wasn't a name.
It was a location.
*FORT LIBERTY — COMMAND CENTER.*
I felt my stomach drop.
“They're going after the base.””
Ethan nodded.
“Not the base.””
“Then what?””
“The archive.””
I understood.
Everything we had uncovered was connected to one place.
My old command center.
The original Black Lantern files were still there.
And if someone reached them first, every piece of evidence could disappear.
I grabbed my phone.
“I need a secure line.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Colonel.””
I turned.
“There is one more thing.””
“What?””
He reached beneath his shirt.
Around his neck was a black cord bracelet.
Three knots.
One faded brass bead.
The same bracelet I'd seen on him in the hospital.
He removed it.
Inside the brass bead was a tiny compartment.
He opened it.
A microfilm strip fell into his palm.
“This is why they kept us alive.””
I took it.
“What is it?””
“The original list.””
“Of the test subjects?””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“Of everyone who knew.””
I unfolded the strip carefully.
Names appeared.
My heart stopped.
Because halfway down the list was:
*COLONEL RACHEL GARDNER.*
I looked at Marcus.
“I didn't know.””
“I know.””
“Then why am I on it?””
“Because they believed you would eventually remember.””
I frowned.
“Remember what?””
He stared at me.
“Your father didn't just recruit you.””
Ethan finished the sentence.
“He altered your memory.””
The room went silent.
I shook my head.
“No.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Rachel, you were exposed too.””
I remembered the night again.
The smoke.
The burning sensation.
The missing hours.
I'd always believed the concussion caused my memory gaps.
It hadn't.
Someone had taken them.
I looked at Abigail.
She was crying.
“Mom…”
Then a phone rang.
Not mine.
Nicholas's.
He looked at the screen.
His face went white.
“It's my mother.””
I answered before he could.
Patricia's voice came through.
“Rachel, listen carefully.””
“Where are you?””
“I don't have much time.””
“What did my father do to me?””
Silence.
Then Patricia whispered,
“He didn't erase your memory.””
My blood ran cold.
“Then what did he do?””
“He hid something inside it.””
“What?””
A man's voice suddenly spoke behind her.
“Patricia.””
She gasped.
The call ended.
I looked at Ethan.
“What was hidden?””
He stared at me.
Then his eyes widened.
“Your father didn't trust the Army.””
“What does that mean?””
“He needed a place nobody could search.””
“Where?””
Ethan looked directly at Abigail.
“In the only place he knew would survive even if you forgot.””
I waited.
He said:
“Your daughter.””
My heart stopped.
At that exact moment, Abigail reached up and touched the side of her neck.
A tiny scar became visible beneath her hair.
She frowned.
“Mom…”
I stepped toward her.
“What is it?””
She looked terrified.
“I've had this scar since I was a baby.””
Ethan stared at it.
Then whispered,
“That isn't a scar.””
He moved closer.
“That's a surgical access mark.””
Abigail's face went pale.
I looked at him.
“What did they put inside my daughter?””
Ethan didn't answer.
He only looked toward the ceiling.
Because somewhere above us, an alarm began to sound.
Then every monitor in the underground facility switched on.
A single message appeared across all six screens:
*THE ARCHIVE HAS BEEN OPENED.*
May you like
And beneath it was one final line:
*COLONEL GARDNER, YOUR FATHER LEFT YOU A MESSAGE.*
