“Mr. Harrison was also evaluating how this airport treated employees and passengers outside official presentations.”
Dalton frowned.
“You mean he was testing us?”
“No,” Rachel said. “He was observing.”
Olivia looked at her.
“Did he know he was going to collapse?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why was he alone?”
“He insisted on traveling without an executive escort. He often does.”
Evelyn looked troubled.
“We should have had assistance arranged.”
Rachel shook her head.
“He refused it.”
Olivia thought about George’s vintage briefcase.
“Where is his briefcase?”
The group exchanged glances.
Evelyn looked at Officer Reyes.
“Was it taken with him?”
Reyes checked her radio.
“The medical team logged a phone and travel documents. No briefcase.”
Olivia’s stomach tightened.
“It was beside the column.”
Dalton looked impatient.
“Someone probably turned it in.”
Rachel’s expression changed.
“That briefcase contains confidential engineering documents.”
“How confidential?” Evelyn asked.
“Potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Everyone became still.
Security footage was reviewed immediately.
Olivia joined Officer Reyes and Rachel in a small operations room overlooking the terminal cameras.
The recording showed George falling.
It showed Olivia kneeling beside him.
It showed Dalton approaching.
It showed passengers watching.
Then, while the medical team lifted George onto the stretcher, a man in a dark baseball cap stepped near the column.
He bent down.
He picked up the brown leather briefcase.
He walked away.
No one stopped him.
Officer Reyes froze the image.
The man’s face was partially hidden.
Rachel leaned closer.
“I recognize him.”
“Who is he?” Olivia asked.
“Eric Voss.”
The name meant nothing to Olivia.
Rachel explained that Voss had once worked as a senior engineer for Harrison Aerospace. He had been dismissed after attempting to sell proprietary designs to a competitor.
George had refused to press criminal charges because Voss had a family.
Instead, he had allowed him to resign quietly.
Three months later, confidential files began appearing in foreign negotiations.
The company suspected Voss but could not prove it.
“What was in the briefcase?” Reyes asked.
Rachel looked at the screen.
“Prototype specifications for an emergency navigation system.”
Olivia glanced at her.
“What does it do?”
“It helps aircraft land safely when both digital navigation and ground communication fail.”
“That sounds important.”
“It could prevent mass casualties.”
Officer Reyes contacted airport police.
Every exit camera was checked.
Voss had not left through the public doors.
He moved toward the employee service corridor near Gate B.
That corridor led to baggage operations, cargo access, and restricted vehicle areas.
“He may still be inside the airport,” Reyes said.
Evelyn ordered a silent security lockdown.
They could not create panic in a crowded terminal.
No alarms.
No public announcement.
Security teams began searching restricted areas.
Olivia looked again at the footage.
Voss walked quickly but not randomly.
He seemed to know where cameras were located.
“He worked here before,” she said.
Rachel looked at her.
“Not for the airport.”
“But he knows the corridors.”
Officer Reyes enlarged the image.
A temporary contractor badge was clipped beneath his jacket.
Evelyn’s face darkened.
“Someone gave him access.”
Dalton, standing near the back of the operations room, shifted slightly.
Olivia noticed.
He had been unusually quiet since the briefcase disappeared.
She looked at the orange vest.
Then she remembered something.
Earlier that week, Dalton had asked employees to report any damaged locks in the service corridor. He claimed inspectors were coming.
Olivia had seen him standing near a restricted door with a man in a baseball cap.
At the time, she assumed the man was a technician.
She looked at the frozen image again.
“Mr. Dalton.”
He looked at her.
“Did you meet him before tonight?”
The room became silent.
Dalton frowned.
“No.”
“I saw you near Service Corridor C two days ago.”
“You saw me with many contractors.”
“You were talking to someone wearing that cap.”
Dalton stepped toward her.
“Do not make accusations you cannot prove.”
Officer Reyes moved between them.
“Mr. Dalton, where is your phone?”
He hesitated.
“Why?”
“Hand it over.”
“You have no authority to search my personal device.”
Rachel spoke calmly.
“Then you are free to refuse. Airport police may obtain a warrant.”
Dalton’s face tightened.
A notification sounded from his pocket.
He reached for the phone instinctively.
Officer Reyes saw the screen.
A message preview appeared.
BRING HIM TO CARGO BAY 6.
Dalton locked the phone.
Too late.
Officer Reyes removed his access badge.
“You are detained pending investigation.”
“This is a misunderstanding.”
“Who sent the message?”
Dalton looked toward Olivia.
His anger returned.
“This is because of her.”
“No,” Olivia said. “This is because of you.”
Officer Reyes guided him toward the door.
Dalton pulled away.
“You have no idea what you’re interfering with.”
Rachel looked at him.
“Then explain it.”
He said nothing.
Security discovered that Dalton had allowed Voss to enter using a temporary contractor badge.
In exchange, Voss had promised him money.
Dalton believed the briefcase contained financial documents that could be copied and returned before anyone noticed.
He claimed he did not know about the engineering plans.
Whether that was true remained uncertain.
“What happens now?” Olivia asked.
Officer Reyes pointed to a map.