For the first time since they entered the mountain, nobody was running.
Nobody was shooting.
Nobody was shouting coordinates through an earpiece.
And somehow, the quiet was worse.
Aaron Mercer stood in the doorway while the thin Genesis file rested in Allison's trembling hands.
The words on the page had already changed the room.
SECOND GENERATION PROJECTIONS
ALLISON CROFT
Projected viability: Exceptional.
And beneath it—
Maternal lineage suitable.
Paternal acquisition successful.
The last phrase seemed to have lodged itself beneath Allison's skin.
Paternal acquisition.
She hated it.
Hated the clinical coldness.
Hated the implication.
Hated the way it made her father's entire existence sound like a transaction.
Adrian Croft had never been simple to her.
He was intimidating.
Demanding.
Overprotective.
Impossible.
Sometimes emotionally constipated enough to make Allison wonder whether he understood feelings existed outside quarterly reports.
