Nadir’s first message arrived before breakfast.
ACCESS GRANTED. THE VALUES DON’T MATCH.
Sera read it standing beside the clinic sink. Leah was filling a kettle, and a delivery driver was waiting outside with a box of gloves. Sera typed a reply asking which values and whether Nadir could preserve the comparison. Then she went to help carry the box inside.
His second message came while she was signing the delivery receipt. He had the raw field entries, the intermediate summary, and the final report. Two figures differed between the source entries and the final page. The upload history showed when the summary had been generated, but he had not yet established who changed the values or why.
CAN YOU MEET EARLIER? he wrote.
Sera called him. “Where are you?”
“At the office. I can leave at lunch.”
“Bring your notes. Don’t take anything you’re not permitted to take.”
