[Threshold Port — Boat — Night]
The night in Threshold Port arrived quietly.
The port with its usual sounds — ships at the docks, voices in four languages, the S‑rank creature on the north dock still pulling cargo at nine at night because in Threshold Port work didn't have a fixed schedule.
The team's boat still at the west dock.
Max had gotten provisions for the week while the team was in the mountains — without anyone asking, because Max knew that when the team came down, what they would need first wasn't a meeting but hot food.
Dinner at the crooked three‑legged table.
Everyone.
---
Jessica waited until the plates were empty.
Not because she had calculated it exactly.
She placed both notebooks on the table.
"I'm going to present what I documented at the Silent Threshold," said Jessica. "Everything. Including what Viktor and Max didn't hear in the mountains."
Viktor put his coffee on the table.
Max put down his fork.
