"Seattle is the line," he told me. "Another incident, and they'll remove you first."
"Understood."
"Soo-jin wasn't here. He submitted his written assessment to legal. He'll use your home ground against you."
"What do you need from me?"
"Perfect execution. No visible attachment that they can frame as compromised judgment." He looked at me directly. "If something happens, you follow protocol precisely. No improvisation."
He was asking me to be the professional I'd been before Redwater. They'd destroyed that version of me eighteen months ago.
"I'll do my best."
My phone buzzed.
Do-hyun:Rune's awake. You should tell him.
***
Rune opened the door after one knock. Joggers and t-shirt, with hair still damp from the shower. His eyes searched mine immediately.
"Come in."
I stepped inside. He engaged the security bar.
"The briefing?"
“Finished thirty minutes ago,” I said. “They didn’t argue about what happened. They argued about what it means.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “There’s no appetite for change yet. Kang held the line.”
Rune studied my face. “And the price?”
“If anything else happens, they'll stop pretending this is manageable.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring.”
“No.” I let my arms fall. “It’s a countdown to Seattle.”
“Soo-jin?”
“He didn’t show up . Submitted something in writing instead.” I stared into Rune’s eyes. “Kang thinks he’s saving his move. He'll try to go after me in Seattle.”
Rune dragged a hand through his damp hair. “You’re the easiest thing to remove.”
“I’m one of them,” I said. “You’re the other.”
He exhaled slowly. “I suppose they'd think I should tell you to leave.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going to.”
I crossed the space between us, reaching up to rub the stubble on his cheek.
“Eighteen months ago,” I said quietly, “I trusted my instincts and paid for it. A series of dead-end jobs. Then Kang hired me,and I met you. And you reminded me that sometimes what they call failure is just integrity refusing to disappear.”
He bit his lip.
