Chapter 6 - THE ELEVEN MISSING MINUTES
Campus security reported that two cameras near the science building went offline at 11:42 p.m.
They returned at 11:53.
Eleven minutes.
The same window in which Maya was attacked.
Ward called it a technical malfunction.
The university’s IT administrator disagreed.
“These cameras were manually disabled.”
“From where?” Ortiz asked.
“A security console or an authorized remote device.”
“Who has that access?”
The administrator handed her a list.
Ward.
Becker.
Four night supervisors.
And Professor Lang, who had received temporary access after equipment thefts in his laboratory.
The primary security logs had been erased.
A backup server preserved one detail.
The command came from a device labeled DWARD-TABLET.
Ward claimed the name proved nothing.
“Old equipment gets reassigned.”
“Who has the tablet now?” Ortiz asked.
“No idea.”
The tablet was not found in his office.
Meanwhile, technicians recovered more of Maya’s phone upload.
The video began inside a dark laboratory hallway.
Maya whispered behind the camera.
“I received a message from someone claiming to have Jordan’s original medical files.”
A door opened in the distance.
A male voice said, “Put the phone away.”
The image moved violently.
Maya ran.
Footsteps followed.
Then someone grabbed her.
The screen went dark, but the audio continued.
One attacker spoke.
“Where’s the drive?”
The second said, “Check the bag.”
Maya struggled.
A blow ended the recording.
Frank listened from the hospital conference room.
His knuckles turned white against the table.
Ortiz paused the audio.
“You need a break.”
“No.”
“There may be more.”
“I said no.”
The next recovered sound was Maya breathing on the floor.
One man said, “She saw your face.”
The other replied, “Then make it look like Ryan lost control.”
The first voice was unfamiliar.
The second had been distorted by distance.
But Frank knew the rhythm.
Slow.
Controlled.
Used to giving orders.
A key card beeped.
A door opened.
One attacker said, “The colonel said no body.”
The other answered, “She’s still breathing.”
Frank stood so fast that the chair struck the wall.
Ortiz replayed the sentence.
The colonel.
Ward was not the only retired colonel connected to the university.
But he was the only one controlling the cameras.
Frank walked into the hallway.
Ward was standing near Maya’s door.
He looked toward Frank.
“Any progress?”
Frank forced his voice to remain steady.
“Not yet.”
Ward nodded.
“Good.”
The single word escaped before he could correct it.
Frank’s eyes hardened.
Ward smiled faintly.
“I mean, good that the police are being careful.”
Frank looked at the man he had once trusted with his life.
May you like
For the first time, he wondered how many of Ward’s old orders had been built on lies.
👉 The recovered audio connected a colonel to the attack, and Ward’s accidental relief made Frank certain Maya was still in danger.
