Beatrice POV
My slate vibrates suddenly.
Incoming resonance alert.
Triadic spike detected.
Simultaneous across three vectors.8
My breath catches.
They're close.
Too close.
The waveform on my projection trembles violently for half a second,
Then it stabilizes.
Not fully.
But enough to confirm alignment tightening.
The system is locking faster than projected.
The triangulation is completing ahead of schedule.
And if it completes under current volatility,
The protocol may initiate its fail-safe.
I press my palm flat against the cold archive table.
I don't know who the most unstable node is anymore.
And that,
That is what terrifies me most.
*****
Third Anchor POV
They move me before sunrise.
Not arrested.
Relocated.
That's the word the navy jacket man uses.
"A safer environment," he says.
The car is unmarked. Windows tinted. Two vehicles ahead, one behind.
Not protection.
Containment.
My hands rest on my knees to keep them from shaking.
