Chapter 93: Audit
The Seventh Division building felt different the moment Caleb stepped through the lobby doors.
The lobby still held the same desk, the same potted plant in the corner, the same kid at the front station who'd been at the front station for three weeks and still didn't know anybody's name. The light was the same. The air pressure was the same. The morning recruits filed past in their usual unsynchronized way, and Caleb still didn't know any of their names either.
But the air had a different weight in it.
He felt it under his ribs first.
Iharu felt it too. He stopped half a step inside the doors and shot Caleb a quick look without saying anything. The same look he gave a doorway before clearing it on a deployment.
The kid at the front desk lifted his eyes from his screen.
"Briefing room four. Both of you. He's already in there."
"Who's he."
The kid didn't answer. He looked back at his screen and didn't look up again.
Iharu lowered his voice.
"Caleb."
"Yeah."
