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.But he was wrong.Sometimes emotions told you things your mind couldn’t.And her mind was telling her not to numb herself, that her emotions had something important to say.So she let them wash over her, and she sat with the burning pain and let it take her.And for the first time since yesterday, since the awful moment Tadeo said Era killed herself, Zephyr’s mind cleared, even while her heart ached.Each moment in the past three days crystallized in her mind—sharply outlining the shape of all that had come before.Everyone was wrong about Era’s death.It made perfect sense for her to kill herself, but Zephyr knew Era, and she wouldn’t just do that.Had Medic Faust been delirious from the meds?There are things in this fleet people would kill for… and die for.Zephyr remembered the night Era died—each moment as it had played out, despite how fresh the pain was.After they got the news that Dritan had died in the cave-in, Era had been hysterical.But she’d been trying to speak through her sobs.Her pain had broken Zephyr—she’d wanted to make it go away—so she’d forced Era to swallow the grimp.What had Era been trying so hard to tell her?Zephyr closed her eyes.Era had said something about the defect… that it was a lie.She’d said something about treason, too.Maybe she’d been talking about the hull breach, about the traitor who’d tried to kill Tesmee.Zephyr had assumed Era was losing it, saying nonsensical things.Then the grimp took hold, and Era had fallen asleep before explaining what she meant.Something wasn’t right about any of this.But what? What had really happened that night? When had Era awoken and decided to take her own life?Zephyr gasped and sat up straight, clenching her sticky hands into tight fists.Era had said something else between her sobs.“I recorded the truth.Hid it.”“She tried to tell me,” Zephyr whispered.“But I wouldn’t listen.”Zephyr covered her mouth, inhaling the coppery-salt-scent of dried blood, and leaned back against the bench.The hard edge of it cut into her scalp, and her eyes watered.What truth had Era hidden? It seemed absurd—Era had shared everything with Zephyr, hadn’t she?She said she’d recorded something and hidden it.Was she hysterical, or did a recording really exist somewhere? And could it hold the answer to why she’d committed suicide?Zephyr wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned forward, staring through the bars of her prison.If Era had hidden a last message somewhere, Zephyr was going to find it.By the time Tadeo reached stairwell C, guards were already pouring out, filling up the corridor.He caught sight of Omar and Kiva in the press, as the squads lined up on both sides of the corridor, hands on their weapons.Nicolas Gonzalez, Jonathan Lau, Farida Mittal, and the families came out next.They had metal cases with them, and their faces were drawn with fear.Tomas came with his wife and daughter next, a scowl on his face, and Nassef and his family followed.The president was the last to exit, flanking Tesmee on one side with the chief on the other.Tadeo edged around the board to get to the chief and president.“Chief!”Chief’s brow furrowed, and he paused in the orders he was giving to the squad.“Say it quick.What is it?”“I found something in the data,” Tadeo said, keeping his voice low.“What did you find?”“I think the bomb might be in the power core.”Nyssa gasped and pulled Tesmee closer.Chief’s nostrils flared.“Why do you think that?”“Tatiana Carizo spent a lot of time in a cubic close to the power core.And the morning after the hull breach—she left work to go there.I don’t know if she met someone, but—”“That doesn’t mean the bomb’s in the power core,” Chief said, irritated.“It’s impossible to get anywhere near it without access.The terrorists had none.”“But what if they did? What if they have someone working with them—on the inside?”Nyssa stepped closer.“No, everyone’s clean.There are strict regulations about who works down there.”“I need to look into it,” Tadeo said.“Tatiana worked the power core on the Meso before she transferred here.She knew all the safeguards, all the protocols, all about the regulations.Maybe someone in the power core helped the terrorists.I don’t know, but if you wanted to take out a ship, wouldn’t that be the best place to put a bomb?”Nyssa shook her head and squeezed Tesmee’s arm.“The terrorists would have died with us.”“What if this was their plan if the hull breach failed?”The chief shook his head and cast a glance at the board members, who were trying to listen in.“We need to get them out of here.”Blood rushed in Tadeo’s head.“Just let me take a few men down there to question the power core workers.”Chief nodded and glanced down the corridor, clearly eager to move.“Take them.I need to get these people to safety.If you find anything, comm me.”Tadeo grabbed Kiva, Omar, and two others and led them back into the stairwell.“What’s going on, sir?” Kiva asked.“We think the bomb might be in the power core.”Kiva gasped and went pale.The others, including Omar, looked stricken, sick.“I think someone in the power core could’ve been working with one of the terrorists,” Tadeo said, rushing to get the words out.“Be on the lookout for suspicious behavior while we’re questioning the workers.”“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.All of them wiped the fear from their faces and stood taller.“Let’s go.”∞ ∞Tadeo raced through the corridors of P2, his veins pulsing with fresh adrenaline, his guards at his back.The hum of the power core grew as they neared it, and Tadeo fought back memories of Era—and the airlock.They were heading toward it, but when they reached the final corridor, they turned left, away from it, and Tadeo felt the pressure in his chest ease up.All that mattered right now was finding the explosives.He hoped he was wrong about all of this—that Tatiana’d had some other reason for coming down here.Another few minutes brought them to the main power core entrance.Tadeo didn’t have access here.The chief did.So did the board members and a few trusted sublevel workers.Could one of them be a terrorist?Tadeo scanned his shift card at the cubic adjacent to the massive doors.The cubic door opened, revealing two men and a woman sitting at a table.The woman jumped up, holding a tray, and tried to conceal it behind her back.It was food brought down illegally from the galley.“Who’s in charge here?” Tadeo shouted to compete with the hum of the power core.The oldest man stood up and came to the door.Light scars crisscrossed his face, and his shaved head made him look older than he probably was.“I am,” he said.“And you are?”“Sorry, sir.I’m Gavin Lanar.”“Lanar, I have some questions for you.Clear the room [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]