She taps her nails once on the glass.
“Limited cooperation,” she says. “Information for information. No operational entanglement. No mutual defense obligations.”
“Agreed.”
“And no public acknowledgment of alliance.”
“Also agreed.”
She slides her own tablet across to me.
It displays a list of movement pings, shell accounts, and warehouse transfers tied to Nine subcontractors.
“They’re building excavation capacity,” she says quietly. “Heavy equipment. Deep-bore rigs. They think your ground is a lid.”
My stomach tightens.
“How long.”
“Days. Maybe a week.”
I nod.
“This stays between us.”
“Of course,” she replies. “Until it doesn’t.”
I stand.
She stands.
We don’t shake hands.
Tur steps closer.
Not threatening.
Not aggressive.
Just… present.
Lenara’s eyes flick to him again.
“Word travels fast in this city,” she says to me softly. “People will notice you’re no longer alone.”
“Good,” I reply. “Let them.”
She smiles like she’s just found religion.
By the timewe leave the hub, I can feel the shift in the air.
It’s subtle.
It’s not mystical.
It’s political.
People look at us differently.
