the table was half empty. The ro

ey with unnecessary

running at a steady pace. It was the o

said. "Too clean

machine to a

. But there's no... life. No speeding tickets. No ex-girlfriends on Insta

er forehead with a tow

e Mack Capital internal server. I hit a firewall that fel

"I can't afford a c

und one thing. Dark web arc

g man standing in the snow, smoking. He looked hollowed out

readmill. She walked

t skippe

er to "dry out" when she was nineteen, even though she had never touched a drug in her l

ere," she

r visitor?

n't k

t the lobby buzzer.

up. "Pres

k from the table. She walked to the

a courier in a uniform, ho

d the doo

Mrs. Mack," th

it. She dragged

sked, peering

tape. She li

as midnight blue velvet, structured and severe, with a slit

was

tion Gala. Tonigh

one she was explicitl

t's a declaration of war. He's marchi

s soft, but the construction was rigid.

the dress. "Get the makeu