Joan's office at two in the morning looked the same as it always did except for two things.
The glass of something amber on her desk, and the unsigned resignation letter next to it.
Soren closed the door behind him.
His arms were still wrapped in the field bandages Selah had applied before he left, white gauze over burns on the right and frostbite treatment on the left.
He sat down across from her without being invited because Joan had stopped expecting formality from him three weeks ago.
"You purged the file," he said.
"I did."
"The auto-report on Maren's combat readout. The spectral data from the training yard."
"Yes."
"And you overrode the auditor's preliminary detention order before she could file it through Bureau channels."
Joan picked up the glass and took a drink. She set it down without any change in her expression. "I delayed it. I didn't override it. The distinction matters legally, at least for another forty-eight hours."
"Why?"
