Cole twisted Briggs’s arm behind him.
Briggs laughed.
Actually laughed.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
I walked toward him.
“Then educate me.”
His eyes shifted toward Caleb.
“You believe him?”
“I believe evidence.”
“Rourke is the reason Nightglass exists.”
Caleb’s jaw tightened.
Briggs continued.
“He betrayed Vale. He sold Helix. And now he wants you to finish what he started.”
I looked toward Caleb.
“Is any of that true?”
“Yes.”
Everyone froze.
Cole stared at him.
Caleb stepped closer.
“But not the way he means.”
“That answer usually precedes something extremely unpleasant.”
Caleb nodded.
“I created Nightglass.”
My stomach dropped.
“You?”
“Seven years ago.”
“Before Helix existed?”
“Before Helix had a name.”
Rain ran down his face.
“Vale and I discovered something buried inside a military intelligence program. Predictive targeting. Behavioral mapping. Automated threat ranking.”
I felt cold for reasons unrelated to weather.
“Helix.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“We realized someone had expanded it beyond defensive analysis.”
“Who?”
Caleb looked at Briggs.
“The Directorate.”
Briggs’s smile disappeared.
“What Directorate?” Cole asked.
Caleb answered slowly.
“A compartment inside our own intelligence structure that officially does not exist.”
Pike tightened his grip on Briggs.
Caleb continued.
“They believed national security required predicting threats before they occurred.”
