Page 109 of Reaper Said Mine

“Yes.”

“And this one?”

“Security contractor retained by a neutral merchant guild.”

“Neutral,” he growls.

“Funny how often neutral means paid by someone smart enough to stay out of the brochure.”

I isolate the payment stream and pull it beside the recent diplomatic access log. The first connection makes my stomach tighten. The second makes it sink. The third sends a cold line down my spine that has nothing to do with the archive temperature.

“Oh, hell,” I whisper.

Gnash’s hand settles on the table beside mine, claws clicking lightly against metal. “Ursa.”

I swallow. “The missing kitchen worker.”

His stillness becomes predatory. “What about him?”

“Her,” I say, checking the personnel file. “Vara Vell. Temporary contract staff, assigned to diplomatic service support. She had a debt marker transferred last week.”

“Debt to whom?”

“Not obvious.” I move faster now, fingers flicking through layers. “The payment cleared through personal obligation arbitration. That’s common in migrant labor pools, but the holder changed three times in forty-eight hours. Last holder is… damn it.”

“Say it.”

“Same Halcyon-connected creditor pool.”

The air seems to leave the room.

Gnash turns from the table and opens a direct comm. “Vakka.”

Her voice comes through rough and immediate. “If this is about the broker, I am still making people uncomfortable.”

“Find Vara Vell. Kitchen worker. Temporary contract. Pull her last access points and lock down any corridor she crossed after leaving diplomatic service.”

Vakka does not ask why. “Alive?”

“If possible.”

“That qualifier is ugly.”

“Yes.”

The channel cuts.

I keep moving because stopping will make me feel the shape of what we have found. “This might not mean she’s willingly involved. If Helios-linked debt holders had leverage over her, she could have been pressured, bribed, threatened, or used as a courier without understanding the larger operation.”

Gnash’s voice is very quiet. “Or she planted the relay needle.”

“Possibly.”

“Or she carried messages between Zune’s people and Theryki’s.”

“Possibly.”

“Or she is dead.”