"Yes." He watched the clinic's corridor floor. "He's going to be fine. The physician has been clear."
"But."
"The fracture is significant," Alistair said. "The second hit—" He stopped. "The wound was compounded."
Naomi was quiet.
"He stepped in front of it," she said.
"Yes."
"You know why."
"Yes." He fixed on the floor. "I know exactly why."
"Alistair."
"Yes."
"He's going to be fine," she said. "You've told me that."
"Yes."
"And you believe it."
"Yes." He exhaled. "Yes, I believe it."
"Good." "The archive is running. I have confirmation from fourteen outlets. The financial records are leading, as predicted. The Protocol files are coming up in the secondary coverage — people are angry."
"The right kind of angry."
"Yes," he said.
"Elias's name is in seventeen outlets," she said.
He closed his eyes.
"Yes," he said.
"Lucien is going to see it in the morning," she said. "When he wakes up."
"He already knows," Alistair said. "He was part of the release. He watched the node confirmations come through."
"I know. But seeing his name—" "The first time you see a name in print. For someone who's been gone. It's different from knowing it's in there."
Alistair thought about this.
"Yes," he said. "I imagine it is."
"The testimony timeline," she said. "When you're ready, I need to brief you both. Not yet — take the time you need. But when you're ready."
"Two weeks," he said. "Give us two weeks." "Two weeks," she agreed. "And then we prepare."
The clinic corridor was very quiet.
"Naomi," he said.
"Yes."
