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"The Tk wasn’t working alone," she said to them both "His partner shot at the house, then at me when I realized it had to be a distraction and headed inside" Bypassing the front door, she’d sh a lower-floor"I’ in the shadow of the stand of eucalyptus trees out front"

"One uessed--thefro afterward, holding several blackened pieces of grass "Yes, he was there As hat appears to be a jet-powered rassthey could do to help track the shooter if he’d departed on the high-speed vehicle, Adria nonetheless made a note to see if she could pick up a scent by the trees It ht come in useful later, if they had to identify a suspect Beside her, Riaz said, "I’ll talk to DarkRiver, see if the shooter blew past one of their security patrols Long shot, but worth a try"

"An analysis of the weapon’s signature ht provide some clues," Adria said, but knew the chances were their quarry was too clever to have used a conspicuous tool

Vasic’s next words proved her right "Generic projectile gun,at the black screen of the coauntlet that covered his left forear up the already tumbled black strands "We can continue to watch the perimeter while you work"

Aden shook his head "There’s not much to be done here beyond the cleanup We’ll take care of that and secure the house" He sounded as if the task was a simple case of spilled milk, not bone and brain matter drenched in blood "We appreciate the assistance"

Adria wondered how often one of these men said that to anyone

ADEN stood at thein the corridor and watched the two SnowDancers get into their vehicle after spending several minutes by the eucalyptus trees where the shooter had stood He was interested in whether the ardless of the fact he’d been unconscious not long ago Predatory changeling males had a reputation for irrational behavior However, this one bent his head toward the tall, beautiful soldier fehing and allowing her to take the driver’s seat

It made him wonder what the woman had said that she’d provoked the emotional response from a man who had watched Aden and Vasic with a predator’s stealthy focus since he regained consciousness "This isn’t the first ti their taillights disappear into the night "And yet we have never assisted them"

"The point is moot," Vasic said fros do not ask for help"

True--the packs were very insular "It seeant to the point of not seeing the reality in front of theated and treated as weak for far too long

Leaving the , he returned to the body "One of Henry’s Confirms the Pure Psy connection" Visual identification made impossible by the fact the SnowDancer’s kill shot had obliterated the Tk’s face, Vasic had accessed the Council’s main Tk database, confirmed ID via DNA An Arroho had infiltrated Pure Psy had then provided verification of the dead roup

"Have you had any success in tracing Henry?" Vasic asked

"No However, I have soht is out" It was a bold prediction, but Aden knew his own abilities, as he knew Henry’s "He can’t be shielding hih-Gradient, but it wasn’t always about power, as how the power the individual had was used

"Vasquez ifted telepath" The squad had zeroed in on Henry’s general even before Kaleb Krychekto flush him out "He continues to be a problees of him since his official death" The man had scrubbed the Net clean of his presence

Vasic walked the peri the work to be done "Did you discover why he was reram for the squad?" the teleporter asked as he turned a corner

"He failed the psychological evaluation" It was a difficult test to fail--sociopaths h level of instability"

"The psych evalin this case" Vasic returned to the center of the roos with military precision for Henry"

Aden watched Vasic lower his head, flex his hands "He is also a zealot"

"Soan to peel off walls and out of the carpet, coalescing into a single red stain above the dead man’s body "We very much were at the start, when Adelaja created the squad"

An elite unit formed to protect Silence, that had been their mission statement For over a century, the Arrows had ensured no one dared raise his or her voice against the Protocol, believing it was Silence that had saved their race Now they knew Silence had consequences that could lead to the extinction of their people, and that as inevitable After it was over, they would have to find a new reason for being