Page 96 of Anders
Etta nodded, her expression turning serious.It came in this morning from our contact in Denver.Confirmation that Chimera’s influence extends beyond military and intelligence circles into civilian research institutions.
She tapped a command on the nearest keyboard, bringing up additional documentation.Three major universities have received funding through shell companies we’ve now linked directly to Chimera.All three have genetics research facilities with focuses that could be applied to shifter physiology.
Anders studied the information.They’re expanding their research base, creating plausible deniability through academic partnerships.
Exactly,Etta confirmed.Which means their operation is larger and more sophisticated than we initially thought.
She pulled up another file, this one containing personnel records.But we also found this.Dr.William Chen, geneticist at Colorado State University.His research was funded by one of Chimera’s shell companies, but six months ago, he abruptly terminated the relationship and relocated to a private research facility in New Mexico.
The significance wasn’t lost on Anders.A defector?
Potentially.Etta highlighted a section of the report.His last published paper before disappearing from academic circles focused on noninvasive suppression of genetic traits—exactlythe kind of research that could lead to the chemical suppression Chimera used on me and the other assets.
If he developed the technology and then had a crisis of conscience—
He could be a valuable ally,Etta finished.Or at least a source of information on how to counteract the suppression in the other assets.
Anders nodded slowly, analyzing potential approaches.We need to locate him, make contact cautiously.If Chimera suspects he’s defected, they’ll be watching him.
Already working on it,Etta assured him.I’ve traced his movements to a private medical research facility near Santa Fe.It’s officially focused on degenerative neurological conditions, but its security measures suggest something more sensitive.
The thoroughness of her investigation impressed him, though he wasn’t surprised.Etta approached their mission with the same methodical dedication she had once applied to journalism—enhanced now by the wolf’s instincts she was learning to integrate.
This is excellent work,he acknowledged.When the Stardust delegation arrives tomorrow, we’ll have substantive leads to share.
Etta’s expression softened slightly, a hint of vulnerability showing through her professional demeanor.Do you think they’ll trust me?After they learn what I was?
Anders stepped closer, allowing himself to breach the professional distance he typically maintained during operational discussions.They’ll trust you because I do.Because Malcolm and Larissa do.And because you’ve earned it through your actions since breaking free of Chimera’s control.
She nodded, though he could sense her lingering uncertainty through their bond.With a gentleness few outside their private moments ever witnessed, Anders cupped her face in his hands.
You are not what they made you,he reminded her, echoing words he’d spoken to her before.You’re Etta BaroneandEliana Thornwood, mate to Anders Hamilton, member of the Sunburst Pack.And you’re the strongest person I know.
Thank you,she whispered, leaning briefly into his touch before straightening.We should finish preparing for the council meeting.Malcolm and Larissa will be here at three to review our findings before tomorrow’s delegation arrives.
Anders recognized the shift back to professional focus and respected it, stepping back to examine the central display again.We should organize the intelligence chronologically rather than by source.It will make the pattern of Chimera’s expansion clearer.
They worked side by side for the next hour, arranging information displays, preparing briefing materials, discussing security arrangements for the visiting delegation.The easy rhythm they’d developed over the past weeks made the work flow smoothly.
Anders found himself appreciating the partnership in a way he wouldn’t have thought possible before meeting her.His previous approach to security had been solitary, with him shouldering the burden alone out of a sense of duty and a belief that connection meant vulnerability.
Now he understood that the right partnership could be a source of strength rather than weakness.
The thought of another shifter facing what Etta had endured—the neural interface burning through their nervous system, their very identity being erased—sent a cold fury through Anders’s veins.But he channeled the emotion into focused action, developing emergency protocols for exactly that scenario.
The pack was unified, their defenses strengthened, their intelligence network expanding daily.
Most importantly, they understood what they were facing—no longer blind to the threat as they had been when Etta first arrived as Asset E5.
The odds against them were still daunting.Chimera had resources and reach that exceeded their worst estimates.
But standing in the transformed basement of theSunburst Herald, with his mate at his side and their pack united in purpose, Anders felt something he had rarely experienced in his duty-driven life.
Hope.
Not the fragile optimism of the naive, but the steely determination of warriors who understood their enemy and believed in their cause.
Let them come, Anders thought.We’re ready for them.
