Eli read the invitation twice, then pushed it back across the clinic counter.
“I don’t want you to go.”
Tessa had expected the sentence. She had not expected how tired she would feel hearing it again.
“Tell me what you’re worried about.”
“Rook wants a partnership. He offered me training and insurance, but the contract would have given Aegis control over records from my work.”
“That’s a specific concern.”
“He leads the guild whose commander trapped us in the raid I remember.”
“And you don’t know what he ordered.”
“No.” Eli held the edge of the contract Nora was reviewing. “But I know the guild had reasons to hide what happened. I don’t want you alone with people who might have those same reasons now.”
Tessa looked at the address. The invitation proposed a visit to Aegis headquarters, a presentation on the donation program and a discussion of what the independent clinic needed. There was no demand that she attend and no statement that the medicine already delivered depended on a partnership.
“I want to see how they bought the supplies,” she said. “The first cooler failed its temperature check. They sent a replacement, but I want to know whether they can provide consistent stock and whether the delivery came with obligations they haven’t shown us.”
“You could ask them to send the records.”
“I did. Their reply says they’ll show selected records at the meeting.”
“Selected by them.”
“Yes. That will limit what I learn. It doesn’t make the visit useless.”
Eli’s jaw worked. Tessa knew he was trying to separate an imagined order from what he could actually ask her to consider. She appreciated the effort even while she refused to let it become a veto.
“What would help?” she asked.
“A check-in. A contact who knows where you are. A list of what you want before you go, so they can’t use the room and the presentation to keep changing the subject.”
“Good. I’ll call halfway through. If the signal fails, I’ll use the office telephone or ask the receptionist to relay a message. If you don’t hear from me, call reception first.”
They wrote down the questions together: source and payment for the shipments, temperature records, delivery conditions, and whether the clinic would owe referrals, records or publicity in return. Tessa added a question about who would select patients for any future assistance. Eli added whether Aegis could withdraw support without notice. Neither question committed the clinic to a partnership.
Leah copied the two delivery identifiers from the receiving sheet. The first belonged to the cooler held for review. The second marked the replacement that had arrived with a complete temperature record. Marisol had checked the replacement against the clinic’s needs and placed it in appropriate storage. Mrs. Patel’s treatment had begun; Tessa did not want to turn that good outcome into a reason to stop asking where the earlier shipment had come from.
Before leaving, Tessa went to the pharmacy to collect the supplier’s decision on the first cooler. Dev met her behind the counter with the monitor data printed on three sheets. The manufacturer had identified a period outside the recommended range but had not yet provided a final determination for the affected batch.
“We can’t use it,” Dev said. “I can keep it isolated until they answer, or arrange for disposal if they decide it has to go.”
“Keep it for now. Is the replacement still within range?”
He showed her the current reading and the receiving record. It was. The replacement had come in a separate container with its own identifier. Mrs. Patel’s treatment could continue using that stock, but Tessa had already learned how quickly an inventory could change if one assumed a pending delivery was usable.
A woman at the counter overheard and asked whether the clinic’s medicine was dangerous. Dev turned toward her, but Tessa answered first.
“One cooler is being held because we don’t have enough information about its temperature. It hasn’t been given to patients. The replacement was checked before we accepted it.”
The woman seemed unconvinced. “How would I know which one I got?”
“Your clinician and the pharmacy keep the batch information. If you have a question about your own prescription, Dev can check it with you privately.”
Dev invited her to the consultation area. She went, still holding the prescription bag close to her coat. Tessa waited outside until he returned.
“She wanted to make sure the news wasn’t about her tablets,” he said. “They weren’t from either shipment.”
“I should have discussed the cooler away from the counter.”
“You couldn’t have known she’d hear, but next time we can use the consultation room. She deserved an answer either way.”
Tessa added the temperature review to her list for Bellamy. The new question was not just whether the replacement had arrived. She wanted to know how Aegis would notify a clinic if a temperature alert was discovered after a delivery had already been accepted, and who would contact affected patients. She would ask for the procedure, then compare it with what had actually happened to their first shipment.
At the tram stop, Eli offered to accompany her.
“Did they invite you?”
“No.”
“Then I’d rather go alone. They may be more willing to answer if the meeting isn’t about your contract.”
“That could also be why they invited you.”
“It could.” She tucked the list into her bag. “I’ll call at eleven-thirty.”
Headquarters stood above the transit interchange, its glass front reflecting buses and cranes. Inside, a security officer checked Tessa’s identification and gave her a visitor badge. A receptionist named the floor and asked her to wait. The lobby was busy: a family collected blankets from a relief desk, two hunters argued quietly over a damaged equipment case, and a cleaner moved a warning cone around a spill.
An administrator named Bellamy met her at the lift. He wore a plain suit and carried a tablet.
“Ms. Vale. Thank you for coming. Rook asked me to make sure you had everything you need.”
“I’m here to understand what was delivered and what a partnership would require.”
“Both are on the agenda.”
He led her into a meeting room with a display screen and a view over the station. A tray of cups stood beside a plate of biscuits. Tessa thought of Mrs. Bell’s warning about the biscuit tin and chose one before Bellamy could offer it. He seemed pleased by the gesture.
The presentation began with a map of emergency deliveries. Colored circles showed neighborhoods reached by Aegis vehicles. Totals appeared beneath them: meals, blankets, medical kits, transport trips. Bellamy explained how the guild purchased supplies in advance and moved them to local partners when a breach created demand.
“How many of the medical kits went to independent clinics?” Tessa asked.
“I can obtain that breakdown.”
“Does it include the clinic’s delivery?”
“It includes the district.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Bellamy paused the display. “What would you like to see?”
“The purchase and transfer records for these shipment identifiers.” She handed him Leah’s copy. “And the temperature data for the first cooler.”
“The first cooler was replaced.”
“We’re grateful. I still need to know what happened to it.”
He studied the numbers, then opened a summary on the screen. It showed a total quantity purchased from a supplier and a delivery date. Tessa compared the figure with the receiving sheet.
“This gives me a total. It doesn’t show whether this particular shipment was kept within range or how it moved between locations.”
“The transport team should have the temperature data.”
“And the transfer records?”
“I can show you selected entries. We protect supplier and patient information.”
“I’m not asking for patient identities.”
“I understand. Some entries include commercial terms.”
He made a call. After several minutes, he took her to a records room where a staff member opened a ledger on a terminal. Tessa could see shipment identifiers, dates, quantities and account codes. Some fields were hidden. Bellamy explained that he could show the entries corresponding to her list but not grant unrestricted access.
With the staff member’s permission, she photographed the redacted fields and copied the first identifier and its dates. The replacement matched a paid purchase from a named supplier. The earlier shipment appeared under a different account code. The terminal displayed an outgoing transfer but not the complete authorization.
“What’s this account?” she asked.
“A relief allocation.”
“From which source?”
“I’ll have to check.”
“Can I have a copy of the entry?”
“We can provide the fields relevant to your delivery after review.”
“Please note that I requested the account source and transfer authorization as well.”
Bellamy did. Tessa noted what she had seen and what remained hidden. A matching identifier mattered, but she could not yet tell whether the earlier medicine had been purchased, transferred under an agreement, or assigned from another source. She asked the staff member to scroll back one page and copied the timestamp again to avoid confusing the two shipments.
A chime sounded from the corridor. Bellamy glanced at his watch. “We have the procurement manager available for ten minutes. Her office is next door.”
The room next door had no windows and thick concrete walls. Shelves of sealed sample containers filled one side. The manager explained how Aegis selected suppliers, what checks it required and how a temperature alert was escalated. She answered Tessa’s question about replacement stock directly: the second shipment had come from a different depot because the first had been held for review.
“Did the original stock come from a public emergency reserve?” Tessa asked.
The manager examined the identifier. “I don’t know from this number alone. It may have passed through a shared distribution point.”
“Who would know?”
“Transport or allocations.”
Bellamy promised to ask both. The manager’s phone rang. She checked it, apologized and ended the meeting.
Tessa reached for her own phone. No signal. The clock showed eleven thirty-nine.
“I need to call the clinic,” she said.
“There’s a landline at reception,” Bellamy said.
They returned through the records room, where Tessa’s phone found a connection. She sent a message before waiting for the lift: Delayed in records room, no signal. Leaving soon. Please don’t send anyone.
At the clinic, Eli had called her twice. He had then called the headquarters reception, where the receptionist confirmed that Tessa’s visitor badge had not yet been signed out but could not see which room she was in. Kellan had offered to go with him. They were putting on their coats when the message arrived.
Tessa called as soon as the lift reached the lobby. “I’m safe. The room blocked my signal.”
“You said you’d use the office phone.”
“I lost track of the time while we were checking records. I should have asked earlier.”
“We were about to come over.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Next time I’ll set an alarm before I go into a room without a signal, and I’ll give you the receptionist’s direct number.”
Eli breathed out. “What did you find?”
“Enough to compare with our records. Not enough to say what the earlier account means.”
At the clinic she spread her notes beside Leah’s receiving sheets. The replacement shipment matched the supplier account and date Bellamy had shown her. She wrote that down first. The original cooler’s identifier appeared under a different account code; she had requested the transfer authorization but had not seen it.
Leah copied the numbers into a fresh column. “What happens to the medicine while we check?”
“The replacement is from the paid supplier and has a complete temperature record. The held cooler remains separate until the supplier gives a determination.”
Kellan studied the codes. “Could the other account be a public stockpile?”
“Possibly. We need the public allocation list or someone who can explain the code.”
Eli had already opened a public records website on his phone. Tessa placed her notes beside him, where he could see both the matching purchase and the unanswered entry. The visit had given them a trace, not a verdict. It had also shown that their check-in plan needed a backup that did not depend on a phone signal or her memory of the time.
She set an alarm for the next scheduled appointment before putting the phone away.