“Markov’s private register,” I say. “Enough to turn half that table against itself if it ever comes out.”
Dominik nods once. “That sounds like him.”
“He didn’t hide things,” I say. “He filed them where they looked legitimate.”
I watch the street ahead.
“He needed it to last,” I say. “Accessible to the right people. Deniable to everyone else.”
“And if something goes missing?” he asks.
“They call it a clerical error.”
“And if someone starts asking questions?”
“Then it becomes an audit.”
He looks at me. “An audit pulls threads.”
“And threads lead to people,” I say.
The car moves through traffic, steady.
“If we’re right,” he says, “then whoever controls that archive controls the room.”
“And if someone else gets there first,” I say, “we won’t get a warning.”
He doesn’t answer that. He’s already accelerating.
27
DOMINIK
Idon’t start by guessing where the ledger is.
I pull access logs.
I look at medical infrastructure archives that changed entry permissions in the last five years. Markov’s cleanest channel ran through medical procurement foundations. Hospitals move money fast, and no one questions urgency.
Most of them don’t matter, nothing tied to Markov’s network.
I focus on facilities that stayed open late, handled emergency procurement, and rotated inspectors without long-term staff oversight. Places where contractors moved in and out without much notice.
I cross-reference those with changes in archive protocol. Files that were reviewed, reclassified, or sealed before full digitization. Records that passed inspection once and were never flagged again.
Then I move to personnel.
I sort the staff lists by access level instead of title. Senior administrators drop out fast. They don’t touch raw files. I flag analysts with revision clearance and cross-department access. The ones who could open shipping records and compliance storage without triggering a supervisor review.
Then I narrow it again to anyone whose credentials expanded before being revoked.
Yelena Moris shows up twice in the logs tied to one procurement foundation. Her access expanded over eighteen months. Then it was revoked.
Her work number stopped responding the same week.
Someone noticed.
She had clearance to touch shipping records, vendor contracts, and compliance storage. She didn’t authorize transfers. She processed them.
