"I went back this morning," Fen said. "Alone. Early." She paused. "The distribution house is a front. Partial front — it is a real business, it handles real goods. But the covered deliveries are not in any of its registered categories and they arrive on a schedule that does not match any of the official supply routes."
"What are they delivering?"
"I don't know yet," Fen said. "I couldn't get close enough to confirm the contents without risking the observation. But the pattern—" She thought. "The timing of the deliveries corresponds to the garrison's off-rotation schedule. When the garrison patrol is not in that section of the fourth district."
Elara looked at the sky.
"The garrison connection," she said.
"I don't know if it is connected," Fen said. "It may be coincidence. The garrison's rotation schedule is not secret — anyone who watched for a few days would know it." She paused. "But I don't believe in coincidence at that scale without more evidence."
