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Chapter 1

Carter

War is co

It’s so I’ve known for over two years

Tick-tock Tick-tock

A tic in my jaw clenches in time with the rhythm of the clock, while the skin over hter Tension rises in my stiff shoulders and I have to remind o away

Tick-tock It’s the only sound echoing off the walls of rows

It’s always like this before I go to a hminute

My gaze drifts frorandfather clock in my office to the shelves next to it, then beneath theany and steel It’s only three feet deep and three feet tall by six feet long It blends into the wall of my office, surrounded by old books

I paid more than I should have simply to put on a display All any of this is merely a façade People’s perceptions are their reality And so I paint the picture they need to see so I can use them as I see fit The expensive books and artworks, polished furniture carved from rare wood… All of it is bullshit

Except for the box The story that came with it will stay with me forever In all the years, it’s one of the fewmoment The box never leaves me

The words froe of his pale green eyes, glossed over as he told me his story

About how it kept him safe when he was a child He told me how his mother had shoved him in it to protect him

I s thickly, feeling hten and the cords in my neck strain at the recollection He set the scene so well

He toldhow panicked she was But he did as he was told He stayed quiet in the safe box and could only listen while the men murdered his mother

He offered to barter for his life with the box And the story he gave oodbye before she passed