"It was a classified designation," Daniel replied quietly. "Something your grandfather and I investigated before."
He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. At the bottom of the compartment lay an old photograph, its edges worn soft with age. Nia recognized her father immediately, younger, in his dress uniform, standing proudly beside a fresh-faced Daniel Voss. A third man stood with them, but his face had been deliberately scratched out of the image.
"Who was he?" Nia asked, holding up the photo.
Daniel's jaw tightened. "Someone who betrayed everything we were trying to protect. Your father and I were part of an internal inquiry into stolen military technology. Advanced targeting systems were being diverted through domestic channels. We had proof, documentation, witnesses, but before we could present our findings, everything fell apart."
Judge Price moved to the window, watching the investigators still processing the scene outside. "Is that why they tried to destroy his reputation? To discredit any evidence he might have kept?"
"They did more than that," Daniel said. "They buried the entire investigation, classified everything under national security, and made your father look unstable when he tried to push back. I should have done more to help him, but I let them intimidate me into silence."
Nia stared at her father's coded notes, anger rising in her throat. "So today wasn't just about harassing me. They thought he left proof here, evidence that could still hurt them after all these years."
The crack of a gunshot shattered the moment. Glass exploded from somewhere outside, followed by screams and shouts. Everyone dropped instinctively as Tessa rushed to the window.
"Someone shot Mrs. Patterson's camera rig," she reported, ducking low. "The big one she was using to record the whole street."
Nia moved to another window, staying below the sill. Across the street, she glimpsed a dark figure disappearing between houses as investigators and federal agents sprinted after them. Car engines roared to life, tires squealing as vehicles peeled away.
"Everyone stay down," Judge Price ordered, her voice steady despite the chaos. "They're trying to destroy video evidence."
Daniel pulled out his phone, rapidly texting commands. "I'm calling in additional federal support. But this confirms what I feared. The conspiracy reaches beyond Larkin and the sheriff's office. They have resources, coordination, and they're moving faster than official channels can respond."
Outside, agents secured the perimeter while state police blocked off surrounding streets. Neighbors huddled behind cars and porches, their phones still recording despite the threat. Mrs. Patterson stood defiantly beside her destroyed camera, describing the shooter to investigators while other residents backed up her account.
"We need to get to that storage locker," Daniel said urgently. "Whatever your father hid there, they'll be looking for it, too. And they just proved they're willing to use deadly intimidation in broad daylight."
Nia gathered the items from the compartment, wrapping them carefully. The sun was lower now, casting orange light across the study's walls. Soon darkness would give their enemies more advantages.
"Tessa, grab your backup drives and go bag," she instructed. "Judge Price, can you coordinate with the neighbors? Make sure everyone's footage is secured and distributed."
"Already on it," Evelyn assured her. "I'll have copies spread across every church computer and veterans group in the county by nightfall. No one's erasing what happened here today."
"We should move now," Daniel urged. "Use the chaos as cover while investigators have the area locked down. I have a secure vehicle two blocks over."
Nia took a final look at her father's study, at the violated panel that had protected his secrets for so long. The home that had witnessed today's siege would have to wait. There were bigger battles ahead.