ログインThe leader’s smile has vanished completely now.“You’re undermining the process,” he snaps, frustration bleeding through the polish.“I’m correcting a lie,” I say.The difference lands. You can feel it in the way the room recalibrates, the way some people stop looking at him and start looking at the
The report is waiting for me when I wake up.Not flagged urgent. Not marked confidential. Just sitting there in the shared feed, already circulated, already read by people who won’t bother checking where the authority came from as long as the outcome suits them. The kind of document designed to feel
Disagreement they could manage. Defiance they could frame.This unsettles them.“You’re being dramatic,” one man mutters.“I’m being precise,” I reply.“I won’t do it,” I say. “Not like this.”Silence stretches.Not awkward silence. Strategic silence.They wait, hoping I’ll fill it. Hoping I’ll so
They don’t come quietly.That’s the first thing that tells me this isn’t a request.The message arrives through three channels within the span of an hour, layered like pressure instead of communication. A formal notice routed through council protocol, stamped urgent without explanation. A clipped fo
I lean back, folding my arms, staring at the ceiling for a moment as the implications settle. “Which means whoever’s behind it doesn’t want a face.”“Or can’t afford one,” she says quietly.The thought lands heavier than it should.For weeks, I’ve been bracing for backlash. For anger. For defiance.
Sally doesn’t come to me with panic.That’s the first thing that tells me this matters.She waits until the evening quiets, until the compound settles into that low, steady hum that comes after dinner and before sleep. The hour when patrols have checked in, when voices soften, when even restless wol







