Chapter 215: More Hands on Deck
Draven.
The study was dimly lit, with only the golden light of the desk lamp casting shadows across the deep mahogany furniture.
I leaned back in my chair, one leg folded across the other, my fingers steepled under my chin as Dennis and Jeffery gave their reports.
Jeffery went first.
"The meeting was a joke," he said, his voice tight with barely veiled contempt. "Brackham and his allies..."
I nodded once. I hadn’t expected anything more. "They are still trying to buy more time."
Then Dennis spoke, his tone more subdued. "We stopped for lunch at one of the local places. While eating, we overheard a woman talking to her friend — it sounded like she was the same woman you told us about. The one who was taken."
My attention sharpened.
"She said she was sedated and locked in a cell for a little over two weeks. Heard voices talking about ’termination,’ ’phase three,’ and ’specimens.’ Then she woke up dumped on the streets... with her baby gone."
I exhaled slowly, not out of shock, but bitter affirmation. "They made a mistake."
Dennis tilted his head, waiting for more.
"They should have killed her," I said flatly, meeting both of their eyes. "Now that she’s survived and knows her own kind did this to her, she won’t stay silent. Word will spread. No matter how Brackham spins it — even if he keeps blaming ’organ harvesters’ — this is going to spiral."