Lin Xiao stood on the observation deck for a long time. Only when his legs had gone numb from the cold did he turn and head down the stairs. The corridor lights were glaring, making him squint instinctively. By the time he returned to his office, it was already nine at night. He did not turn on the lights. Instead, he went straight to his desk, opened the bottom drawer, and took out an encrypted satellite phone. The screen lit up, its dim blue glow falling across his face and illuminating those unfathomable eyes. He pressed the first speed-dial key. The connection tone rang through the silent room—once, twice—like a countdown to a heartbeat.
"It's me," Lin Xiao said after the call connected.
Fletcher's slightly hoarse voice came from the other end. "This late? Did something happen?"
"Brock Rumlow spoke to me just now." Lin Xiao walked to the window, pulled open a sliver of the blinds, and looked out at the pitch-black snowfield. "He mentioned 'more core work' and gave me three days to consider it."
The other end fell silent for several seconds. He could hear papers rustling, along with Fletcher's somewhat heavy breathing.
"I was about to contact you." Fletcher lowered his voice further. "This afternoon, several 'guests' came from headquarters. They weren't routine inspectors. They stayed with me for less than half an hour, but the questions they asked... were unusual."
Lin Xiao lightly tapped his fingers against the windowsill, producing dull echoes from the wood. "What questions?"
"Deployment plans for new vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, site-selection standards for global data centers, the accuracy of large-scale population behavior analysis models..." Fletcher paused. "And algorithms for identifying 'potential threat targets,' as well as the division of command authority for the Rapid Response Unit."
The room was