Daniel glanced at Claire. Then at the monitor. "I think so."
Robert lowered his voice. "Why didn't you tell us who you were?"
Daniel's expression remained calm. "I wanted to know how you treat people when you don't know who they are."
Robert said nothing. Daniel looked toward Counter 17. "The ticket isn't the problem."
He paused. "The way you treated me is."
Claire looked down. Daniel continued. "And that's why I'm here."
Robert stared. "Here for what?"
Daniel reached into his jacket. He pulled out a small black access card. Then placed it on the counter. "I've been reviewing the complaints from this terminal."
Robert's face changed. "You're..."
Daniel looked directly at him. "Director of Airport Operations."
Claire stopped breathing. Daniel picked up the torn pieces of his ticket from the trash. He placed them carefully on the counter. Then he said something that made Robert's blood run cold. "I'm not here to punish Claire Donovan."
Claire looked up. "I'm here to find out who taught her that this was acceptable."
Nobody spoke. Then the airport's secure system beeped again. A new alert appeared on the monitor. Robert read it. His face slowly lost its color. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED. Below it was another line. SUBJECT: DANIEL CROSS
Daniel looked at the screen. For the first time that morning, the calm expression disappeared from his face. Because the system had just reported something impossible. Someone else was already logged into the airport network... using his identity. And the access had been granted from somewhere inside Terminal Four. Daniel looked toward the restricted corridor. Then toward Robert. "Lock the terminal."
Robert stared. "What?"
"Now."
"Why?"
Daniel's eyes remained fixed on the screen. "Because whoever is using my credentials..."
He paused. "...knows exactly where I am."
And somewhere deep beneath the airport, a hidden server came online. A single message appeared on its screen. WELCOME BACK, DANIEL. Then another:
WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU. Robert Kline did not move. For several seconds, he simply stared at the monitor. The warning remained on the screen. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED
SUBJECT: DANIEL CROSS
ACCESS ORIGIN: TERMINAL FOUR
Then, beneath it, another line appeared. ACTIVE SESSION: 01