* * *

  Pegasus fiddled with Sarah’s abandoned pen, throwing it a couple of times before Scorpion reached out to try to steal it.

  She spun her chair around, almost hitting his left foot with the wheel. “Can we go now?”

  “We still have six minutes before the meeting. Sarah likely stepped out for some food, so she should be back soon.”

  “You know, sitting at her desk like a lost puppy isn’t really gonna make her materialize any faster.”

  No sooner had she finished speaking, the elevator doors opened and Sarah stepped out onto the floor. Pegasus tossed the pen back onto the desk, grinning at Scorpion. “You were saying?”

  “I’ll head in first then.”

  Pegasus remained where he was, waiting for Sarah and Lore to part ways. Lore looked as excited as a kid showing off her favorite toy, an uneaten sandwich flailing along with her hands. Sarah, on the other hand, stared down at her fruit salad.

  As soon as he noticed her troubled expression, Pegasus moved towards them. Thankfully, Lore was sufficiently engrossed in whatever she was saying that she hadn’t noticed.

  “Hey, Lore. Mind if I steal Phoenix?”

  “Oh, sure. Of course.” Lore cheerfully went to her station, finally turning her attention to her sandwich.

  “What’s wrong?” Pegasus asked. “The two of you did not look like you were having the same conversation.”

  Sarah blinked up at him.

  “Did you have another vision?”

  She choked out a laugh. “Maybe a glimpse of how my future came to be.”

  Griffon emerged from the elevator just then and signaled Pegasus follow him.

  “Do you want me to stay?” Pegasus asked.

  Her smile looked a little forced. “No, it’s okay. I’ll tell you later.”

  He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but Sarah beat him to it, planting a quick kiss on his lips before hurrying to her station. This time, when she waved him away, her smile was real.

  Feeling more at ease, he joined the others in the conference room, taking a seat between Cypher and Unicorn.

  “We have some updates on the security measures for President Consoli’s visit. They decided to move the stage from the east to the north side of the lake. There are also some personnel changes we’ve been informed of.”

  Scorpion scowled. “Are these people indecisive? What’s wrong with them?”

  “Who’s in charge of redistributing our people?” Pegasus asked.

  Griffon gave him a meaningful look. “I’d like you to go check out the location. A quick look to see if there’s anything we need to be concerned about or plan for. Unicorn, you’re in charge of refocusing our checks on these new faces.”

  She nodded, looking down at her tablet.

  “Should we expect more changes on the way?” Mermaid asked.

  “Who knows?” Cypher said.

  Griffon ran a hand over his hair. “For now, all we can do is play catch-up.”

  “What is this mess?” Scorpion asked. “Is this what you get when you throw people together haphazardly without any concern for their skills? It’s like having Mermaid try to do needlework.”

  “Hey!” Mermaid protested. “I’m great at sewing!”

  Unicorn reached over to pat her shoulder. “No, sweetie, you suture your clothes. There’s a difference.”

  Scorpion laughed. “The one thing she retained from paramedic training.”

  “See if I help you next time you’re bleeding,” Mermaid replied.

  “Alright, that’s it. Back to work.” Griffon gestured he wanted a word with Pegasus separately. “Zeus suggested you take Sarah along on the survey.”

  Pegasus had been wondering why he’d been instructed to go investigate the location personally. It seemed Zeus was still willing to gamble that Sarah’s visions could be triggered. “Alright. I’ll set that up.”

  Perhaps he’d already been stonewalled by Zeus, but Griffon asked nothing more about why any of them would actively want to involve Sarah in this. And Pegasus wasn’t about to volunteer anything that contained the word hallucinations until Sarah wanted it brought up—or they no longer had a choice.

  * * *

  On Sarah’s screen, the cursor blinked rhythmically right next to Wilbur Black’s name. She glanced over at Lore. The woman was focused on her own work, a little less than half a sandwich still uneaten on the corner of her desk.

  If Lore and her fascination with General Moore were truly related to Sarah’s arrest, would having sent her the mistake file again somehow come into play?

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Would Lore notice the file? Probably.

  Would she care enough to say something to their superiors? To someone other than Zeus? That seemed like a stretch. Unless there was something else involved. If anyone got sent a file by mistake, they wouldn’t really think spy, would they? It was much more likely to think that it was the result of incompetence.

  As the incompetent in this scenario, Sarah would rather take on the role of an idiot than be thought a criminal mastermind. Maybe she should send Lore some other random file by mistake, like a supply purchase list. That would fit in nicely with mistake number three, the monthly report from medical.

  A fleeting helplessness intruded out of nowhere. Was that feeling hers? It shouldn’t belong in the here and now. She inhaled and let the air out slowly as she pressed enter.

  Wilbur Black’s history started loading onto her screen chronologically. First were his prison records, then came a note on his release five years later, so about twenty-three years ago.

  Sarah marked the file number for that. There was always the hope that he’d volunteered information in exchange for a reduced sentence. She didn’t know if five years for terrorist activities was in line with usual practices back then.

  The last file on record merely stated that he had left the country barely a year after his release from prison. Sarah felt a little more hopeful. Surely he wouldn’t have done that if he were still involved with the New Nation.

  Unfortunately, their local records only went that far. The WRO had since turned over his information and any monitoring responsibilities to local foreign authorities in his new home. She’d have to borrow Pegasus’s access later to contact the outside world.

  “You look like you’re up to no good.”

  Sarah startled, almost headbutting Pegasus as she whirled towards his voice.

  Mischief lit up his eyes. “Your reaction makes me think I was right.”

  Sarah couldn’t bring herself to say he wasn’t. “How did the meeting go?”

  “Nothing much. They made more changes. We’ll have more work.” He shrugged. “I’ll have to go survey the event location since they’ve moved things around.”

  “Why do you have to go in person?”

  He gave her a meaningful look. “Zeus wants me to take you along.”

  Was Zeus hoping for a sudden revelation?

  “Treat it as a field trip.”

  Sarah laughed. “Sure.”

  Pegasus turned her towards her screen, leaning in closer until his lips brushed against her ears. “Are you trying to get at things you shouldn’t?”

  “I was tracking down Wilbur Black, but I can’t find anything after he left the country.”

  His arms reaching over her shoulders, he brought up the login page and typed in his credentials. He sent out a query to the network of outside agencies they worked with. “I swear you’re only using me for my access these days.”

  Sarah held back the urge to stick her tongue out at him. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

  “A few days at least.”

  His hand stilled on the mouse, pulling away as he straightened. Sarah leaned her head back against him to look at his face. His attention was no longer on her screen. Brows furrowed, he was staring at their security monitors.

  * * *

  Sarah took a sip of her water, her eyes refusing to leave the screen. Knife and fork sat on the corners of her plate, yet to get to work on her meal, while her friends discussed the menu options for the rest of the week.

  The university restaurant only had one small television up in the corner, and right now, it was showing the news. From where she was seated, Sarah could barely read the closed captions popping up at the bottom of the muted screen—not that sound would have made a difference amidst the bustle of a crowded restaurant.

  …Initial reports saying the president had undergone emergency surgery have since been dismissed as rumors by press secretary Thomas. An official press release stated the president was hospitalized due to a severe case of food poisoning. The president is reportedly recovering…

  Movement over her plate distracted her, and Sarah turned. Ellie froze, fork hanging over Sarah’s plate, ready to grab one of her fried plantains.

  “You’re not eating. You should eat.”

  Sarah picked up her fork and shooed Ellie’s hand away. She chewed a mouthful of pasta that had now gone cold.

  “How the hell did anyone get food poisoning and emergency surgery mixed up?” a boy from the next table over asked his friends.

  “Maybe the rumors about emergency surgery were made up by people trying to mess with his image.”

  “Why would they make up such a lie? Hell, he’s practically a war hero. It’s not like he needs any extra manhood points. And surgery is just surgery. Isn’t it even more embarrassing to get food poisoning?”

  Sarah picked up her fork and stuffed it into her mouth, only to find it empty. The metallic taste coated her tongue, reminding her of blood.

  * * *

  Sarah watched as, instead of the usual internal feed, several of the security monitors changed to news channels. Did they have a remote control sitting in a drawer somewhere?

  External footage of a large hospital came into view as a young reporter adjusted her earpiece in the foreground. Her lips moved without accompanying sound, but captions popped up at the bottom of the screen.

  Sarah tried to catch up to the vanishing words.

  …admitted to the hospital last night. Initial reports were confusing, with various sources stating he’d undergone emergency surgery for a burst appendix shortly after…

  “But was it an attack or not?” Medusa asked nearby.

  Sarah glanced around. Everyone in Comm had their eyes on the screens.

  “We haven’t received any word of an attack,” Cypher replied loudly as if the question had been directed at him.

  …an official spokesperson for the government has since dismissed these rumors of an emergency surgical procedure as laughable. They further stated that General Moore is recovering well from an episode of food poisoning…

  At the mention of General Moore, Sarah couldn’t help look at Lore. The woman’s expression was blank as she stared up at the screen. Would she be worried for her hero?

  “Would they be hiding it if it were an attack?” Sarah asked.

  “Not from us,” Pegasus replied without looking down at her.

  “Will this affect the president’s visit?”

  “It shouldn’t. General Moore was only attending as part of the entourage, though whether he was going to take the opportunity to pay us a visit is anyone’s guess. Besides, if it is a simple case of food poisoning, he should be fine in a couple of days.”

  Lore noticed Sarah staring at her and, after an awkward smile, turned back to her screen and whatever it was she’d been doing.

  Done with the news, Pegasus grabbed a nearby chair and started sifting through the scarcity of information Sarah had been able to get on Wilbur Black. “It seems he was only a grunt for the New Nation. It’s unlikely that he knew anything important.”

  “Lore said she was looking for even rumors that might lead us to the location of the gateway.” She shrugged, feeling like she was infringing on his copyright move. “So that could be what she found.”

  “It’s not impossible.” He scrolled through the rest of the file. “But it’s a long time for someone to remember a rumor.”

  True. “And what if he wasn’t the focus of the other Lore’s attention in the first place?” She lowered her forehead onto her desk. “I wish I could go back there and ask.”

  “Have you tried asking that one?” Pegasus nodded towards Lore’s desk.

  Sarah looked up out of reflex. She hadn’t noticed when, but at some point, Lore had vanished from her station, the last of her sandwich abandoned on a corner of her desk. “Not yet. I did add mistake number one that has his name on it when I sent her the latest files from her list. If she saw it or saw anything relevant, she didn’t mention it to me. Maybe she didn’t even notice. She seemed very distracted by her hero worship.”

  Pegasus chuckled. “Her what?”

  “Pegasus,” Foxtrot called, gesturing towards the conference room.

  Pegasus kissed her cheek with an apologetic smile. “Tell me later.”

  Sarah waved him away, not wanting anyone to say she was the reason he was getting distracted from work. He was perfectly capable of distracting himself all on his own.