I pressed my fingers to the key panel and entered the six-digit combination David had set three days before his last deployment.

The inner lock released with a sharp metallic click.

Inside lay the original bound audit ledger, its black cover marked in David’s neat handwriting, and his brass military service wristband.

I picked up the brass wristband and turned it over in my palm, reading the serial code cut into the polished underside.

It matched the master seal number stamped on the command envelope Captain Keller had sent to me.

I took the bound ledger off the safe shelf and slid it into the reinforced pocket of my military transit case.