Three hundred eighty-four homes. The number arrived via text at 6 AM with Conductor's usual punctuality and complete absence of empathy. Arden read it by touch her phone had voice-to-text now because screens required seeing and seeing required facial recognition she'd traded three chapters ago for the tactical advantage of saving seven hundred forty-eight families one night and losing infrastructure the next.
384 homes. 11:47 PM. Your team's down to two. Your tools failed. Your engineer quit. Let's see what strategy looks like when trying becomes impossible. C
Kael's voice from across the substation: "We can't cover three hundred eighty-four locations with two people."
"I know."
"Margaret can cover sixty. That leaves three hundred twenty-four families undefended."
"I know."
"Saying you know doesn't solve the math."
