"Six months in the primary audit layer, with archived copies beyond that."
"And now?"
Lena opened the current configuration. "It cycles much faster. New events overwrite older ones."
Mercer said, "That could be part of a storage optimization."
Lena looked at him. "Not one I approved."
"Could the vendor have done it during maintenance?"
"They could have. But changes at that level should create an administrator record."
Maya asked, "And that record?"
"Gone," Rebecca said. "If the log was overwritten automatically, you can't claim someone deliberately deleted it."
"I didn't," Maya replied.
Rebecca paused.
Maya continued, "I asked what changed."
The distinction ended the argument.
A knock came from the outer door. Two FBI technical specialists had arrived, followed by another agent carrying sealed evidence containers. Maya met them in the hallway and gave brief instructions: "No shutdown unless I authorize it. Preserve live configuration first. Mirror active logs. Document every administrator certificate. Normal police operations stay online."
One of the technicians nodded. "Understood."
Mercer followed them back inside. "Agent Williams, this department handles active calls through systems connected to this network. I won't have emergency operations disrupted."
"Neither will I."
"You're bringing federal technicians into an operational police network."
"To preserve specific systems."
Mercer lowered his voice. "You arrived here under restricted notification. Your presence triggered a confrontation. And now you're expanding into our internal infrastructure. I need something more specific than general concerns about a grant."
Maya held his gaze. "Then give us a system that matches the grant records."
Mercer did not answer.
Lena opened a storage report and turned the monitor toward Maya. "This is another problem."
The report listed the department's contracted capacity and redundancy status. The numbers did not match the physical storage visible on the network.
Maya asked, "How large is the difference?"
"Large enough that the equipment we have online cannot provide what the city certified."
Rebecca moved closer. "You're sure?"
"I've been sure for months."