The mood changed when I slid the envelope across the tablel. They could feel it — the thing I'd given to Nihil and Elysia earlier wasn't idle. It had its own reasons.
Tron was first to break the silence. "You gave them what?" he asked, voice tight with curiosity. Tron's intelligence network runs like an insect swarm — if he wanted to know how the thing worked, he would tear it apart and understand its smell. That made him dangerous in two different ways.
I let his question hang. I didn't like giving away my chessboard's moves, but this one needed covering. If I didn't explain the reason I handed them the document earlier, someone would ask it later and then every loose thought of mine would litter the corridors as a hole.
"Before the attacks started—before anyone smashed anything—I gave Nihil and Elysia a thing to do," I said, slow and cold. "A document and a task. Not because of whim. Because I had a feeling." I saw Alex's jaw tighten. He likes tidy plans. I prefer living ones.
