Mercer examined it. "That mailbox is used by command administration. Several employees can send routine responses."
"Then we preserve the mailbox history and identify who sent it."
Mercer nodded once.
The technician called Maya back to the transfer logs. "I found another pattern. The data isn't leaving as complete backups. It's being selected."
He displayed several export categories: one package contained repeated vehicle movements between a courthouse parking structure and a residential neighborhood; another tracked vehicles entering a municipal garage; a third contained access events from public buildings combined with nearby traffic camera records.
Lena stared at the screen. "That's not maintenance."
Rebecca looked increasingly uncomfortable. "Calvin told the city his system could identify traffic patterns."
"City traffic patterns are one thing," Maya said. "Individual movement histories are another." She turned to Lena. "Did residents receive any notice that their location information could be distributed outside the city's systems?"
"Not that I know of."
Mercer said, "License plate readers and traffic cameras are public safety tools."
Maya nodded. "That's how they were funded."
Lena looked at the transfer list. "People agreed to cameras because they were told the cameras were for safety."
Maya answered, "Consent to safety is not consent to being sold."
No one spoke for several seconds. The federal team continued mapping the external destinations. Not every transfer could yet be tied to a buyer, and Maya refused to speculate about identities they had not confirmed. What mattered was already serious enough: Asheford's public surveillance infrastructure had been feeding an undocumented system that packaged and transmitted information outside approved municipal channels.
A technician at the rear workstation raised his hand. "We have another problem."
Maya walked over. He showed her the administrative audit queue: several older events visible earlier were no longer available.
"The retention cycle is still running," he said. "New activity is replacing old history."
"Can we stop it without shutting down the operational systems?"
"Not safely yet. We can continue mirroring what remains."
"Then keep mirroring."
Mercer asked, "Why not disconnect the shadow server right now?"
"Because I want the outbound activity preserved, including whoever still has access."
Rebecca looked at her. "You're leaving the door open."
"I'm watching the door."
Lena glanced toward the hallway; her expression changed. "Where's Lieutenant Sloan?"
Maya turned. Rebecca had been standing near the entrance only moments earlier; now the doorway was empty.
Ben Carter appeared at the far end of the corridor and looked from Maya to the vacant space where Rebecca had been. "I saw her go upstairs," he said. "Toward the secondary admin terminals."