"Griffin, this isn't about making Rune too expensive anymore."
"What is it about?"
"Think it through. What happens if the next incident is fatal?"
My blood ran cold.
"Tour cancels immediately," I said. "Multiple investigations. Liability."
"And Rune?"
"Medical leave, I suspect. Mandatory."
"How long?"
"Long enough for people to forget. For the group to restructure without him. For his absence to become permanent." I understood. "They will frame his exit as a tragic necessity instead of a removal."
"Right. Soo-jin only needs to make continuing with Rune impossible."
"By creating conditions where someone—" My breath caught. "Dies."
"Yes."
I replayed the clip again. Right before Micah went down, Soo-jin’s head turned. Away from the fall and toward me. No panic or surprise. Assessment.
He was checking whether I understood what I’d just seen.
I thought about Micah Nakamura. Conscious now, but he'd been seconds from not being conscious ever again.
"He crossed a line today," I said.
"He didn't cross it. He erased it." Eamon's voice was grim. "He put someone in the hospital. Deliberately. Documentedfrom every angle. Established himself as a witness. This wasn't a warning. It was another field test."
His words were like ice in my veins.
"You think he's testing how far he can push it."
"I think Soo-jin has run the numbers. Injury creates sympathy for Rune. Makes him look like a victim. That's the opposite of what he needs." Papers rustled again. "He needs Rune to look like a danger. Proximity to him costs lives. One injury concerns. A death is unacceptable. Continuation becomes impossible."
"Who would be the target?"
"Anyone. Crew. Staff. Security." Eamon slowed the cadence of his voice. "Could be you. You're already on camera protecting Rune. Already documented as compromised. If you died in the line of duty—"
"It proves management's assessment was correct. Tour cancels. Rune goes on medical leave. And I'm not there to contradict the narrative."
"You see it now."
"Yes."
I leaned against the wall.
"Griffin. This is attempted murder. You need law enforcement."
"With what evidence? Blurry footage showing a push in a crowded evacuation? We can't definitively ID him. Can't prove intent."
"Then what do you do?"
"I don't know yet."
