Evelyn replied matter-of-factly. «Because there’s a backdoor signal being broadcast to your training drones. Someone is deliberately interfering with your systems. It’s not equipment failure.»
Ramsey leaned back in his chair, studying her. «Why didn’t you come forward with this information sooner? Why the expired visitor pass and the unofficial approach?»
Evelyn’s expression didn’t change. «Because the last time I tried to help officially, they erased my name from every database. Ghost Recon doesn’t exist. I don’t exist.»
«But the threats to your operations are very real,» she added.
The colonel quietly signaled to a tech officer through the window. «I need you to verify this handwriting against any legacy recon documentation we have. Look specifically for call sign Shadow 9.»
Meanwhile, Evelyn remained seated, completely calm, as if she’d been through this verification process many times before. Twenty minutes later, the tech officer returned with a folder marked Classified Historical.
«Sir, the handwriting is a perfect match,» the officer reported. «This is definitely Shadow 9. She was the signal intelligence specialist who designed the counter-jamming protocols we still use today.»
Ramsey looked at Evelyn with new understanding. «You built the systems that are currently protecting this base.»
«I built the foundation,» Evelyn corrected gently. «But someone has figured out how to exploit the weaknesses I couldn’t solve twelve years ago.»
The colonel realized the full scope of what was happening. «You’re telling me that our current security vulnerabilities stem from incomplete solutions in your original Ghost Recon work?»
«I’m telling you that whoever is targeting your drones knows exactly how Ghost Recon systems work,» she said. «They’re using our own techniques against you.»
Ramsey understood the implications immediately. If someone had access to Ghost Recon methodologies, it meant either classified information had been compromised or another surviving member of the unit had gone rogue.
«Who else from your unit survived?» he asked.
Evelyn was quiet for a long moment. «I hoped I was the only one. But the signature patterns in your drone interference… they look familiar.»
The colonel made a decision that would change everything. «What do you need to fix this?»
«48 hours of access to your drone control systems,» Evelyn requested. «And a small team of technicians who can follow instructions without asking questions.»
«Done,» Ramsey said.
Over the next two days, Evelyn worked with a closed team of three trusted technical officers that Colonel Ramsey had handpicked. She moved through the base’s drone systems like someone who designed them personally, because in many ways, she had.
Lieutenant Graham, one of the younger techs, initially doubted her capabilities. «Sir, are we really trusting our entire drone program to someone with an expired visitor pass?» he asked.
But after watching Evelyn work for six hours, his skepticism vanished completely. She installed counter-signal patches that blocked unauthorized access attempts. She reprogrammed fallback frequencies using encryption methods that weren’t in any current manual.
Most importantly, she identified the exact source of the interference.
Lieutenant Graham whispered to Colonel Ramsey later that day. «Sir, she’s not just fixing our system. She built half of it. The core architecture we’ve been using, it’s all her design.»
Meanwhile, rumors spread throughout the base. «That woman at the checkpoint last week? She’s some kind of legend. Heard she was Ghost Recon. Thought that unit was mythology.»
Colonel Ramsey personally vouched for her, which was something that simply didn’t happen.
On the third day, Evelyn’s work paid off in the most dramatic way possible. During a routine training mission, three drones simultaneously lost GPS signal and began flying erratic patterns that would have resulted in crashes. However, Evelyn’s new protocols automatically engaged, maintaining stable flight until manual control could be re-established.
Without her intervention, the base would have lost $50 million in equipment and possibly injured personnel on the ground.
That evening, Colonel Ramsey called a base security briefing with all senior officers present.
«Three days ago, we nearly lost multiple aircraft to what we thought was equipment failure,» he began. «It wasn’t failure. It was deliberate sabotage using techniques specifically designed to exploit our systems.»
He gestured to Evelyn, who was standing quietly at the back of the room. «Thanks to Evelyn Shaw, callsign Shadow Nine from Ghost Recon, this base is not only still operational but now has the most advanced drone security protocols in the military.»
A major in the front row raised his hand. «Sir, Ghost Recon was disbanded over a decade ago. How do we verify her credentials?»