That was the first thing I noticed—not the headline, not the name, but the timing. No tease. No countdown. No manufactured urgency. They cut straight through whatever filler passed for programming tonight, graphics half-built, anchors clearly reading copy written minutes ago.
That meant panic.
I turned the volume up anyway.
Darrin Rather appeared on screen, posture locked, voice calibrated for consequence—the tone networks reserved for moments when facts were still moving and liability was already circling.
Good choice, I thought distantly. His network used him the way Mallory’s used her.
I missed Mallory.
“—breaking news this evening,” Rather said, “as multiple outlets confirm the release of internal financial records connected to senior network executive Guy Reardon.”
That got my attention.
Reardon worked at Mallory’s network. He’d been quoted around her reporting more than once. A man who mistook proximity for importance and power for immunity.
I didn’t like him. Men like Reardon were common—corruption wrapped in polish, arrogance mistaken for authority.
The screen cut to headlines scrolling too fast to absorb cleanly:
ANONYMOUS DISCLOSURE
RECORDS UNDER REVIEW
NO CHARGES FILED
Interesting.
They had his files—but not yet his freedom.
Then Rather continued.
“In the wake of an apparent attack earlier today, sources confirm that Mr. Reardon was transported to a local hospital, where he remains in serious condition.”
I leaned forward.
Attack?
The chyron shifted again:
REARDON HOSPITALIZED
CONDITION CRITICAL
MOTIVE UNKNOWN
Thathadn’tbeen me.
Rather’s voice remained steady. “At this time, law enforcement has not connected the assault directly to recent killings attributed to the individual known as ‘the Auditor.’ However, Mr. Reardon is currently being described as the sole surviving target associated with that pattern.”
Three things struck me at once.
First—the name. I still liked it.The Auditor.Mallory had given it to me thoughtfully, not sensationally. She’d understood the work, not just the spectacle.
Second—I hadn’t known about the attack. That irritated me more than it should have. Information moved fast in my world. This had moved without me.
And third?—
