up my throat. This was different from the pen or the scarf. This felt actively dangerous, malevolent. But I shoved the panic down, repla

ins. I dialed the number for Commander Stone' s office, the one his aide had given

wered. "Commander Stone' s off

" I said, my voice tight. "It' s an

could hear the skep

r is not avail

d mentioned over coffee. He' d been complaining about inter-service rivalries, about a specific offic

im a message. Tell him Sarah Miller called. Tell him... it' s about Colonel Jennings. A

. Frame it as something he could understand: office politics, sabotage

his one longer.

ick with sweat in my hand. After what felt like an eternity, a n

Commande

, so potent it almost

o call so late. I... I found something. Another gift from my sister.

n. I didn' t use the word

e. My sister... she has a connection to Colonel Jennings. I overheard them talking once. I think Jennings is giving her these th

a pawn instead of the mastermind. It was more belie

the other end of the line.

iller?" he finally ask

m the int

God' s sake, don' t touch that pin more

e booth, my body trembling with adrenaline and release.

urb. A man in a simple suit got out and opened the back door for me. I got

sparse, functional office. He looked tir

see it,"

diner, and placed it on his desk. He didn' t touch it. He just stared at it, his

himself than to me. "I never thought he' d sink t

slotted the events into

g me. Whatever my issues are with Jennings, you and your family should not be caught in the middle. From now on,

I whi

your sister' s activities." He looked down at the pin again. "T

bed, a profound sense of relief washed through me. For the first time in months, I wasn't alone in this.

tand. I had plugged it in when I arrived. There were dozens of missed calls and texts

tory on every nat

industrial district. The warehouses belonged to a company called "Aura Luxe Import

id a name that made

ny of her rare pigments and materials through the company. The destruction of this warehouse represents a catastroph

ust a migraine. It was something fiery, destructive. And it

report wa

ppears to have started from a faulty electrical socket in a small office on the property. An office, sources say, that was being used tempo

The one me

athered. And right in the middle of them, being interviewed by a frantic reporter

She did this! She' s always been jealous of me! She' s a jinx! She sent a package to that office ye

er face, a perfect portra

es were a mixture of shock, pity, and growing anger. An anger that was slo

n