Nadir’s name appeared on the public assignment list beside a gate rated low risk.
Sera found it on the third page, beneath a schedule update posted that morning. The site lay beyond the east depot, near an old service road. The assignment did not say why the coalition had sent him there or whether he had completed the work.
She called his phone again. No answer.
At the clinic, Tessa was helping Marisol prepare for the afternoon patients. Eli had gone to the regulator’s office to review the conditions for his formal assessment. Kellan was taking Theo home from the interim appointment. Sera could have waited for one of them to return.
She looked at the time on the assignment notice. If Nadir had gone to the gate after agreeing to meet her, he had either forgotten the meeting, been unable to send a message, or made a choice he had not shared. The first two were ordinary possibilities. The third might be ordinary too.
She sent Tessa a message: NADIR MISSED THE MEETING. PUBLIC LIST SHOWS HIM AT EAST DEPOT GATE. I’M GOING TO CHECK FROM OUTSIDE. WILL REPORT BEFORE ENTERING ANYWHERE.
Tessa replied while Sera was putting on her jacket: TAKE YOUR RADIO. SEND THE EXACT LOCATION.
