Chapter 8 - Victor Sloan’s Story

Victor entered voluntarily.

His lawyer did most talking.

Victor denied ordering forgery.

Denied knowing David lacked authority.

Denied Phase IV overuse.

He admitted commercial arrangement.

“Government approved.”

Investigators produced trust.

“Based on assignment later shown questionable.”

Victor shrugged.

“That is estate dispute.”

Then Tessa asked about Carter Exposure.

Victor said:

“Research team proposed passive validation.”

“Passive?”

“Mara already worked there.”

“No one forced her into compound.”

“You changed forty-seven schedules.”

“Operational need.”

“You had black case delivered.”

“I did not.”

Owen Pike?

Victor blamed Voss.

Convenient.

Then Owen Pike was found and interviewed.

He admitted placing case.

Not under Voss.

Under Victor’s chief operating officer, Karen Vale.

Why?

To retrieve after experiment.

The case was never supposed remain.

Mara arriving earlier than expected disrupted.

Victor’s lawyer requested break.

Then financial records.

Vector contract bonuses tied to successful Phase IV validation.

If dogs responded to Carter anchor, company could claim its conditioning transfer worked.

Worth millions.

Mara whispered:

“So I was demo.”

Victor looked at her.

“A data point.”

That was wrong answer.

Lena’s jaw tightened.

Victor realized.

Then Mara asked:

“Why not ask?”

“Because you would refuse.”

“Yes.”

“Exactly.”

Victor seemed to think that justified.

Then Tessa produced Atlas records.

Victor changed.

“You don’t understand context.”

Mara:

“I was there.”

“Atlas was unstable.”

“He was injured by protocol.”

“He was difficult before.”

“No.”

“Mara—”

“Do not rewrite my dog.”

Silence.

Victor lowered tone.

“Atlas proved the recovery system wasn’t universally reliable.”

“No.”

“He proved you cannot turn safety into performance shortcut.”

Victor sighed.

“You always made it moral.”

“It was readiness.”

“It was contract.”

“Same.”

Then Lena asked:

“Did you authorize continued work after Atlas showed distress?”

Victor looked at lawyer.

No answer.

Email later answered.

Proceed. We cannot let one animal invalidate platform.

His words.

Then another:

Carter is emotionally compromised regarding Atlas. Remove her from evaluation chain.

Mara read.

Seven years of self-doubt collapsed into anger.

She had been labeled compromised because she cared.

Maybe she was emotionally involved.

But she was also right.

Then Victor finally said:

“I made decisions I believed protected program.”

Keene responded:

“You protected contractor.”

Victor:

“They were intertwined.”

That was exactly problem.

Then Tessa asked about Mara’s sealed record.

Who pushed medical-separation narrative?

Victor.

He argued her operational stress compromised objectivity.

Military doctors independently documented real injuries and exhaustion.

But Victor used those legitimate facts to discredit her concerns.

Mara had truly needed retirement.

That did not mean she was wrong.

Another nuance.

Then Ryan asked:

“Why maintenance?”

Keene answered.

Protected employment near base.

Mara requested.

She wanted to watch dog program from shadows.

Victor laughed.

“You see?”

“She can’t let go.”

Mara looked.

“Maybe.”

Then:

“But neither could you.”

Victor had rebuilt Sentinel for seven years.

Same obsession.

Different purpose.

Then investigators confronted David’s email.

Victor still denied knowing signature false.

Could prosecution prove?

Maybe not.

But procurement fraud, undisclosed testing, animal welfare violations, contract misrepresentation had evidence.

His empire cracking.

Then Victor played final card.

He looked at Admiral Keene.

“You want to know who signed Phase IV government approval?”

Keene stared.

Victor slid document.

Signature:

Rear Admiral Jonathan Keene.

Room went silent.

Mara turned.

Keene’s face changed.

He had approved the very project he now claimed to be investigating.

The base commander had known Vector was running Phase IV.

Maybe not Mara Exposure.

But enough.

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And suddenly the cover-up was no longer just contractor versus whistleblower.

It reached command.