"You were bypassing their security protocols."
"Because their security protocols were shite. I proved my point." The clicking resumes. "Right. This is interesting enough. When do you need me?"
"Tomorrow morning if you can swing it."
"Tomorrow?" She sounds amused. "You're not asking, you're recruiting. Must be serious." A beat. "Or you're more invested than usual. Which is it, Caine?"
I glance at Gwen, who's watching me with curiosity. "Both."
"Both. Interesting." Nox's tone shifts, becomes more pointed. "Who are you protecting?"
"Dr. Gwen Abernathy. She documented the equipment discrepancies. Blew the whole thing open."
"Clever girl. And you're doing protective detail personally?" She pauses. "That's not standard protocol for you. Usually you delegate that to your team."
"The situation's complicated."
"I'm sure it is." Nox sounds like she's smiling. "Tell me, is she there right now? Can she hear this conversation?"
"She's here."
"Brilliant. Put me on speaker."
"Nox—"
"Speaker, Caine. Don't make me fly out there just to embarrass you in person."
I switch to speaker and set the phone on the coffee table. "You're on speaker."
"Dr. Abernathy? Lennox Bradshaw. I've worked with Thatcher on a few occasions." Her accent sharpens slightly, the kind of calculated professionalism that slides into a British knife edge. "He's never mentioned protecting anyone personally before. You must be quite impressive."
Gwen leans forward slightly. "He speaks highly of your work."
"Does he? How uncharacteristically generous." Nox's laugh is dry. "Let me guess—he told you I'm brilliant but have an attitude problem."
"Something like that."
"Accurate on both counts. Now, the equipment you documented—what tipped you off initially? Most people wouldn't catch database discrepancies unless they were specifically looking."
"Nurses kept complaining about missing equipment. When I had them check the system, it showed adequate stock but the cabinets were half-empty. I started documenting the gap."
"And you kept digging instead of reporting it to your supervisor?" Nox sounds genuinely interested. "That takes either remarkable instinct or remarkable stubbornness."
"Both," Gwen says.
Nox laughs again, warmer this time. "I like her, Caine. She's got spine." The clicking resumes. "Right. I'm clearing my schedule. Send me the clearance details and I'll be there tomorrow morning. But I want access to the original database logs, not sanitized reports. And I want to talk to your cyber analyst before I start. I need to know what they've already found so I'm not duplicating effort."
"I'll coordinate with Rivera," I say.
"See that you do. And Caine?" Her tone turns sharp again. "If this is as sophisticated as you're describing, whoever's behind it has resources. Real resources. They're not going to appreciate someone poking around their infrastructure."
"Understood."
"Make sure Dr. Abernathy understands too. People who can manipulate military databases aren't going to stop at equipment theft." A pause. "Keep her close. And I mean that professionally, before you get defensive."
"I'm not?—"
"You absolutely are. I can hear it in your voice." She sounds satisfied. "It's good. You needed to stop brooding about Suzy and move on. This one sounds like she's worth the trouble."
