Chapter 16 - ASHES AND STEEL
Black smoke rose over the warehouse when the investigators arrived.
Fire crews had already contained the flames to one section, and a firefighter waved Pierce away from the loading entrance. "You can go inside when we clear it. Not before."
Mara had insisted on coming, though she remained behind the safety line. She watched a stack of twisted shelving collapse and pictured records turning to ash.
"They're destroying it," she said.
"Maybe," Pierce answered. "Or somebody wants us to think there's nothing left."
A warehouse technician in soot-streaked coveralls approached with his hands raised. "My name's Eddie Ruiz. I called the fire department. I didn't start it."
Pierce asked if he wanted an attorney. Eddie shook his head.
"They told us to cut the power to Bay Three. Then two guys showed up with cans and said the building was closing. I took pictures. I knew it was wrong."
He handed Pierce a small evidence envelope containing a security camera's removable backup card. It had been stored in a fire-resistant maintenance box, away from the burning shelves.
"Why keep it?" Mara asked.
Eddie looked embarrassed. "My dad was a firefighter. He always said don't throw away the only thing that can prove what you saw."
Inside the warehouse, crews located the missing pod in a heat-resistant transport case. Its outer display was cracked, but the data module remained sealed. NCIS technicians documented every person who handled it.
Hours later, at the lab, Eddie's recording showed a Greywater executive directing the destruction of shipping paperwork. The pod's internal position record confirmed the Resolute was within visual range of the Mercy Bell when Ward refused the rescue turn.
"There it is," Rowan said quietly. "The difference between what they said and what they did."
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Pierce walked in with a new report. "Greywater's executive has requested counsel. Sloan is cooperating. Both identify Kessler's chief of staff as the man giving orders."
"Kessler filed a motion to classify the entire audio record," she said. "If he wins, the families may never hear why their people died."
