Lincoln went still.
“If I cooperate. Explain what happened.” She was talking faster now, the words tumbling out. “They’ll see I’m not— I can tell them about Randall, about the warehouse, about all of it. Maybe they’ll believe me. I can’t hide forever, Lincoln. I can’t just?—”
“Law enforcement won’t believe you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.” He kept his voice level, but something had hardened underneath. “I’ve been running scenarios since I found the bulletin. The evidence against you is damning. You walk into a federal building, you’re in handcuffs before you finish your first sentence. You’re on the fucking most wanted list by the FBI.”
“But if I explain?—”
“Explain what? That you were kidnapped and forced to memorize classified data? That you’re not a hacker, just a librarian with perfect recall?” He shook his head. “Even if they eventually believe you—and that’s a significant if—what happens next?”
Morgan’s jaw tightened. “They let me go. I testify against Randall. I get my life back.”
“You’re carrying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of classified intelligence in your head.” Lincoln’s voice went flat. “Maybe witness protection locations. Or ongoing investigation details. Personnel files. Without a doubt, financial records. You think they just release you back into the world with all that stored in your memory?”
She didn’t answer.
“Best-case scenario: protective custody. They put you somewheresafeand debrief you for months. Maybe years. You become a permanent government asset—not Randall’sthis time, but theirs.” He paused. “Worst-case: indefinite detention. National security risk. Too dangerous to release, too valuable to ignore.”
“That’s…” Morgan’s voice wavered. “They wouldn’t?—”
“They would. They’d have to.” Lincoln leaned forward. “And that’s assuming everyone in the system is clean. That no one processing your case, no one with access to your file or your location, has any connection to Randall’s operation.”
The color drained from her face. The hope that had flickered in her expression—the desperate wish for an easy exit—guttered and died.
“So I can’t run. I can’t hide forever. And I can’t turn myself in.” Her voice came out hollow. “What’s left?”
The question hung between them.
“You have the data.” Lincoln heard himself speaking, felt the pattern resolving. “Thousands of names, coordinates, codes. Raw. Without context.”
“Yes. Puzzle pieces with no picture. It’s hopeless.”
“No. That’s where I come in. I have the framework. The databases. The ability to cross-reference and trace patterns you can’t see.” He turned to face her fully, still holding her hand. “You’ve been carrying this alone. Trying to make sense of something that can’t be understood in isolation.”
Something shifted in Morgan’s expression. Hope, maybe—fragile and uncertain, afraid to take root.
“Apart, you’re just storage.” Lincoln’s voice dropped. “Apart, I’m just processing power with nothing to process. But together?—”
“Together, we might actually be evidence.” She finished the thought, barely breathing.
“Together, we can figure out who Randall is. Who hisclients are. What all the info in your head means.” Lincoln felt the certainty solidify. “We can build the case that clears your name and brings down everyone involved.”
Her eyes had gone glassy, and he watched her throat work—swallowing back something that wanted to break loose.
“You believe me?”
He considered the question with the weight it deserved.
“Yes. I didn’t need you to tell me any of this.” He said it simply, because the truth was simple. “I’d already concluded you were innocent before you woke up today. The evidence doesn’t support any other interpretation.”
“Evidence can be manufactured. You said so yourself. You don’t even really know me. We just met three days ago.”
“Data can be falsified, yes. But you can’t. I may have met you face-to-face this week, but I’ve known you for two years, Morgan. Not what you look like, not your history—but you. The person underneath all of it.” He met her eyes. “That person could not have done what they’re accusing you of. That math doesn’t work, no matter how it’s manipulated.”
Her breath caught.
