"Seattle's going to be bad," I said.
"We'll handle it. Not you alone. We."
An hour later, there was a knock on the door: three measured taps.
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and checked. Two new messages.
Do-hyun:Need to see you. Have new information.
Do-hyun:I'm outside Rune's room.
"It's Do-hyun," I said.
"He wouldn't come unless it mattered."
I climbed out of bed, pulled on my jeans, and let him in. Do-hyun stood with a tablet and an expression that meant bad news.
"You need to see this now. Something is being constructed, and I have proof."
I let him in. He handed me the tablet. "Access logs. Past two weeks. I've highlighted the anomalies."
The screen showed spreadsheet data, color-coded yellow and red.
"Management credentials used outside normal parameters."
I scrolled. More yellow highlights. Credentials appearing where they shouldn't be.
"Could be compromised passwords."
"That's what I thought. Until I found these." He pointed to the red highlights. "Approvals. Route changes. Security protocols changed outside the standard chain."
"Kang didn't know?"
"All tied to Soo-jin's office," Do-hyun said. "His department. His authority structure."
Rune joined us. "Soo-jin did this?"
"Not directly. These logs don't prove that he personally accessed the systems. They show his office being used to create vulnerabilities."
"Plausible deniability," I said.
"Yes, he's leaving gaps. Windows where something could happen that would look like standard risk."
My stomach twisted. "He's constructing failures that will look natural."
"Yes. And when they happen—"
"They look like security incompetence."
Seattle showed more activity than any other city. Building toward something.
"When did you find this?"
"I've been tracking for two weeks. Didn't have enough to be certain until this morning. I couldn't bring you incomplete information."
We couldn't keep it to ourselves.
"I need you to send everything to Eamon Price at The Guardians and Chief Kang. Keep the originals secure."
