Chapter 40
“A silica alloy,” Maya repeated, her voice dropping to a whisper. “They traded our lives for a lighter shipping weight.”
“The new funding authorization went through the committee at noon,” I said, placing a second document on top of the report. “It allocates twelve million dollars for next-generation armor research, specifically to replace the existing inventory.”
I leaned forward, pointing to the line at the bottom of the page. “Your name is listed as the primary consultant for the user-trials group.”
Maya looked at the document, her thumb tracing the embossed federal seal at the top of the page.
The therapist stepped back, gathering her equipment with a quiet click of plastic cases. “We are done for the afternoon, Corporal.”
For the first time since I had met her in the rain outside my building, Maya smiled, the corners of her eyes tightening with a quiet, genuine warmth. “I will need to buy a pair of decent shoes for the lab.”
“Rachel is handling the relocation grant,” I said, standing to leave. “You will have the funds by Tuesday.”
The high-rise penthouse was warm, though the air carried the faint, dry scent of plaster dust from where the entry door frame had been repaired. Maria was standing in the kitchen, carefully unwrapping a set of blue stoneware plates from their packing paper and placing them in the overhead cabinets.
“They finished the paint in the hallway, Miss Harper,” Maria said, without turning from her work. “The supervisor said the bill went directly to the federal marshal’s office.”
“Thank you, Maria,” I said, setting my bag on the granite island.
The space felt larger than it had six weeks ago, the large floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over a city that no longer felt like a network of threats.
I walked down the short corridor to my study, where the empty server racks stood against the far wall like dark metal skeletons. The heavy blue cables lay coiled on the floor, their copper tips gleaming in the afternoon light.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small, jagged piece of broken ceramic armor plating that Maya had given me during our second meeting. It was no larger than a coaster, its edges rough and grey where the cheap silica alloy had fractured.
I placed the fragment on the middle shelf of the empty bookcase, right next to my father’s yellow notepad with its handwritten cyphers.
May you like
The contrast between the two objects was stark, one representing the high-tech fraud that had nearly cost me my life, and the other representing the silent, protective presence of a father who had chosen to become a ghost to save me.
Maria appeared at the door, holding a small stack of mail.
