VAN'

the silence in the room wa

her brow furrowed. "Donavan, did I say the w

ng little to cut through the knot of irritation in my gut. Her abrupt

t the rejection?" Christie asked

my own ears, the words lacked their usual convict

of innocent confusion. "I thought she just handled the Pack's charity funds fro

on snagged

d no

I assigned her. Her world was small, contained. I had made sure of it. This menti

lit her eyes before she quickly veiled it with a look of sympathy. "M

time. I was distracted, my mind repla

or the first time, it occurred to me that I knew almost nothing about my own

had no knowledge of, no control over, was inte

on the quarterly reports in front of me. On an impulse I

or's schedule was fo

the intercom, apologetic. "Alpha, the Luna has no offic

ded like ston

he ha

ne, to walk out and embarrass me. The confirmation should have been sa

on, I just felt a deeper,

ed, pleading face I was used to, but the one from today. The calm, distant, almost indiffe

y slid across the polished desk, scattering on

out a cigarette, and lit it. The smoke filled m

it did

NOR'

meeting.That's

er had given me. I let myself in with the new key, the

The style was minimalist and modern-all clean lines, white walls, and polished concrete floors. It

as m

livered here yesterday. It was my personal machine, encr

sign for a new type of defensive barrier, a project I had pour

mail account. There were

a senior partner at Zenit

ea

game. Zenith is extremely interested in the Helios project designs. We need

rmer research assistant, a brilliant y

Va

r research notes from the archives. The files are

and awaken. A sensation I had almost forgotten. It was t

g up meetings, outlining a project timeline. The woman who had

. The woman I had been befor

and in

nt, surrounded by my work, I wasn't

ce. And I was tak