Page 178 of Silent Target

She hands me the book.

A heading fills the page.

BLACK BANNER—SUCCESSION DIRECTIVE.

Beneath it is a list of names.

Rear Admiral Thomas Grayson—CONFIRMED.

Director Alan Miller—CONFIRMED.

Commander Jerry Rhodes—CONFIRMED.

Senator Richard Vance—REMOVE BEFORE ARCHIVE REVIEW.

Names Shadow Division has been hunting.

And one senator Graves planned to murder for asking the wrong questions.

At the bottom of the page, the Chairman wrote:

IF THE SECOND CIRCLE IS COMPROMISED, ACTIVATE BLACK BANNER.

Rook reads over my shoulder.

“Black Banner isn’t only the organization.”

Evie shakes her head.

“It’s the plan that allows the conspiracy to survive after its leadership is exposed.”

Fathom connects his tablet to one of the vault servers.

A global map fills the screen.

Red markers appear across North America.

Then Europe.

Asia.

South America.

Africa.

Ports.

Financial centers.

Military installations.

Communications hubs.

“They weren’t simply infiltrating governments,” Fathom says. “They positioned assets inside the systems nations depend on.”

“For what?” Falcon asks.

Evie turns another page.