Bram called while Eli was trying to read the same paragraph for the third time.
It concerned the coastal reader’s maintenance, or rather the information they had requested about it. No answer had come. Eli had caught himself treating an empty space on the page as if concentration might put an answer there.
“Don’t come here,” Bram said.
Eli put down his pencil. “Where?”
“The old Aegis receiving office. Public counter. They’ve started clearing the storage rooms.”
Across the table, Kellan stopped sorting the afternoon transport slips. Eli turned the receiver so he could hear.
“Is that permitted?” Eli asked.
“The lease ended. The inquiry didn’t seize every room Aegis ever rented.” A trolley rattled behind Bram’s voice. “There is a box reference I recognize. Inspection correspondence. I asked the clerk to check it.”
