His name was Aldric.
He was fifty-one years old, Alpha of the Ridgeline territory on the compound's eastern border — a territory that had been part of the dissolution proceedings from the first sessions, that had provided early intelligence about the organizational structure, that had been considered one of the more reliable cooperative sources.
He arrived at three in the afternoon.
Alone. No delegation. His vehicle at the gate, Roan receiving him with the professional courtesy that had nothing warm in it and everything correct.
I watched him come through the gate from the east wing window.
The Read hit before he reached the main building.
His intent landscape was the most complex I had felt from a stranger since — I searched for the comparison and found it. Since Callum in the libra
