And he confirmed that Cole's office received periodic reports about Daniel's status.
Pierce asked:
“Why wasn't Mercer released?”
Sloane looked down.
“Because his release would have exposed the transportation records.”
“What records?”
“The manifests.”
“Why were they so important?”
Sloane hesitated.
“Because they showed movements that had been billed differently from how they occurred.”
Pierce remained still.
“Fraud?”
Sloane looked toward his attorney.
“I'll answer within the terms of the agreement.”
The attorney nodded.
Sloane took a breath.
“Yes. Among other things.”
The investigation had already uncovered questionable invoices.
Now Sloane was connecting those invoices to the decision to conceal Daniel's whereabouts.
Pierce asked:
“Who made the decision to continue the cover status?”
Sloane stared at the table.
Then said:
“Cole approved it.”
Rebecca learned of the interview several days later.
She sat with Tyler at their mother's kitchen table.
Tyler watched her read the summary.
“Anything important?”
Rebecca looked up.
“They identified another official involved in Shepherd.”
“Cole?”
“Someone who worked beneath him.”
Tyler leaned forward.
“And?”
“He says Cole approved the continuation of Daniel's status.”
Tyler exhaled.
“After all these years.”
Rebecca nodded.
He studied her.
“You don't look happy.”
She put the paper down.
“I'm relieved.”
“But?”
Rebecca looked toward the window.
“I keep thinking about how many opportunities people had to stop this.”
Tyler was silent.
She continued.
“Someone could have corrected the report. Someone could have requested an independent review. Someone could have told Sarah that Daniel was alive.”
Her voice tightened.
“Instead, they kept passing responsibility to somebody else.”
Tyler looked down.
He remembered his own behavior at the promotion party.
It was not comparable to what had happened to Daniel.
But the lesson felt familiar.
Silence could become a habit.
So could looking away.
Tyler reached across the table.
“Becca?”
She looked at him.
“I'm glad you didn't stop asking.”
Rebecca smiled sadly.
“So am I.”
The courtroom was silent when Adrian Cole entered.
He wore a dark suit and carried himself with the same disciplined posture that had once commanded attention in military briefings.
But the atmosphere was different now.
He was not arriving to deliver a leadership seminar.
He was appearing in a criminal proceeding concerning his alleged role in the Shepherd conspiracy.
The charges included offenses arising from fraudulent contractor records, obstruction, and the concealment of Daniel Mercer's status.
Cole pleaded not guilty.
His attorneys argued that he had relied on subordinate officials and had never personally ordered Daniel's unlawful confinement.
The prosecution presented a different account.
They introduced financial records, archived communications, and testimony from former Meridian employees.
Laura Voss explained how she had been instructed to prepare a false casualty report.
Peter Lang described the altered manifests.
Victor Sloane testified about the continuation of Daniel's restricted status.
And Daniel Mercer described the years he spent trying to obtain lawful review.
Rebecca attended several days of the proceedings.
She was not there to celebrate.
She wanted the evidence examined.
She wanted the truth recorded.
And she wanted Daniel's family to receive answers.
When Daniel testified, Sarah sat near the front.
Emily held her mother's hand.
Daniel spoke slowly.
He explained that he had refused to approve a manifest he believed was inaccurate.
He described the flight.
The landing.
The confrontation at the airfield.
And the moment he was taken away.
Then the prosecutor asked:
“Captain Mercer, did you ever voluntarily agree to remain at the facility?”
“No.”
“Were you permitted to contact your wife?”
“No.”
“Were you permitted to contact your daughter?”
“No.”
“Did you request legal assistance?”
“Yes.”
“Was it provided?”
“Not through any process I could verify.”
Daniel looked toward the jury.
“I kept asking what I had done wrong.”
His voice trembled.
“Nobody would give me an answer.”
The prosecutor paused.
Then asked:
“What did you want most during those years?”
Daniel looked toward Sarah.
“To go home.”
The courtroom became perfectly still.
Cole's defense challenged the witnesses.
His attorneys questioned the reliability of memories formed years earlier.
They argued that the administrative records were complex and that responsibility was distributed among multiple agencies and contractors.
Some of those arguments required serious examination.
The prosecution had to prove the specific allegations, not merely demonstrate that something terrible had happened.
Rebecca understood that.
She had spent years demanding that conclusions be supported by evidence.
Now she expected the same standard from everyone.
When she testified, she described her communications role during Valley Echo.
She explained the order delaying support.
The questions she raised afterward.
And the inconsistencies she found in the official records.
The defense asked whether she had personally witnessed Cole order Daniel's detention.
“No,” Rebecca answered.
“Then you cannot testify that he gave that order?”
“I can testify only to what I personally observed and what the records show.”
The attorney paused.
Rebecca remained calm.