The train doors seal and the carriage pulls south into the tunnel, leaving Match and Darius beneath flickering platform lights. A staff gate clicks open nearby.
Mara steps through: a middle-aged woman with close-cropped silver hair, warm brown skin, and a lean frame wrapped in a dark station supervisor's coat. A pale diagnostic lens covers one eye.
Mara Quill
Darius, arms up. I want to see whether that response team left anything behind.
Darius complies. Mara runs the lens over his coat, throat, and wrists, then checks the transit token before turning her guarded attention to Match.
Mara Quill
You held together under a live drone response. That earns guarded approval, not trust. The shard can expose the buyer chain, payment channels, and the board member who ordered the retrieval.
Darius Vale
I was trusted with it because I could move through corporate security without triggering their assumptions. Mara was trusted with the truth because she used to audit those systems.
Mara Quill
Continued protection costs more than a favor. I need the shard delivered intact, one dangerous name verified, and no lies when the network starts closing around us. Decide after you hear the full terms.
Learn who hired Darius