The formal complaint hit the High Council's public comment process at six am on a Monday.
She found out from Cassiel Drenn, who texted her at six-oh-three with the characteristic economy of a young council member who understood that information delayed was information diminished: *Formal audit request filed. The Records and northern corridor committee. Complainants: seventeen community members, one junior council representative. I have the documentation. When can you meet?*
She was on the roof with her first coffee.
Below, both halves of the city were doing their early-morning thing — the glass towers not yet gold, the east cliffs catching the first light differently, the bridge between them carrying the thin traffic of people who started before the world did.
*Seventeen,* Solène said.
