At 1055, there was a knock on the door. Sokolov unlocked and opened it.
Captain James Cross stood there—average height, greying brown hair, unremarkable features. The kind of person who was easy to overlook.
"Dr. Sokolov, I need to borrow Recruit Chen for a moment," he said. His voice was carefully neutral, bureaucratic. "Administrative matter regarding his mission assignment paperwork."
His heart skipped. Was this related to Ghost's note about his safety deposit box?
Sokolov glanced at him, then back to Cross. "Of course, Captain. We were just finishing up anyway."
Cross's eyes met his. There was something there—careful assessment, perhaps concern.
"This way, Chen."
He followed Cross out of the lab, down the corridor. He didn't speak until they were in a stairwell, completely alone.
Then Cross stopped and turned to face him.
"You've been very busy for someone who arrived two days ago," he said quietly. "Commander's office, Archives, Morrison's assessment, now Sokolov's lab. You're asking questions. Making connections. Drawing attention."
Kai remained silent, waiting to see where this went.
Cross reached into his jacket and pulled out a small key. "Level 3, Box 247. My personal safety deposit box in the Citadel vault. Inside are documents I've kept for fifteen years—insurance against certain parties who wanted history erased."
He handed him the key.
"Your father was a good man who asked the right questions at the wrong time. I couldn't help him then—I was just a junior logistics officer trying to keep my head down. But I kept records. Copies of things that were supposed to be destroyed."
His expression was haunted. "Cowardice, maybe. Or just bureaucratic paranoia. But now you're asking the same questions, and I won't make the same mistake twice."
"Why are you helping me?" Kai asked.
"Because fifteen years ago I watched good Rangers die while asking for help that never came. Because I've spent fifteen years wondering if staying silent made me complicit."
He glanced down the stairwell, checking for observers. "And because if you're right about what's happening, we're all in danger. Even paper-pushers like me."
"What's in the box?"
"Unredacted mission logs. Communications between General Hardeman and someone in Colorado—never identified, always encrypted. Medical reports on Rangers who returned from Colorado missions and showed... behavioral changes. Things that didn't make sense until you start asking if they came back human."
His blood ran cold. "How many Rangers?"
"Seven, over a span of ten years. All assigned to Colorado operations. All returned exhibiting what the medical files called 'post-traumatic personality shifts.' All eventually transferred to other assignments or retired early."
He paused. "Your father's team included one of them. Ranger who'd served in Colorado three years earlier, supposedly vetted as trustworthy."
One of his father's team was a synth. Ghost's note was right.
"Does Commander Wolfe know about these files?"
"No. I trust her more than most, but I trust documentation more than any individual."
He checked his watch. "You have access to the vault during normal business hours. Go when traffic is heavy so you blend in. Read everything, but don't remove the originals. Make notes if you must, but keep them secure."
"Captain, if this gets out—if people know you kept these—"
"Then I'll finally face consequences I probably deserve for staying quiet so long."
His voice was firm. "I'm tired of being afraid, Chen. Your father wasn't afraid to die for the truth. The least I can do is risk my pension."
He turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. You're building alliances—Wolfe, Morrison maybe, that Okafor recruit, Sokolov. That's smart. But remember: trust is a luxury we can't afford completely. Verify everything. Even from people trying to help you."
"Including you?"
He smiled slightly—the first real emotion Kai had seen from him. "Especially me. I'm a bureaucrat who kept quiet for fifteen years. That doesn't make me trustworthy. It makes me useful."
Cross walked away, leaving Kai standing in the stairwell with a key to secrets that could change everything.
He pocketed the key next to the data chip Sokolov gave him.
Two pieces of the puzzle in one morning. And it wasn't even noon yet.