Page 123 of Strays
SUBJECT: Request for Data Review — Artificial Packs Program
DATE: June 21st, 2025
Following informal integration debriefs, the Harris Pack raised valid concerns regarding discrepancies in the official record of the Artificial Packs Program. These concerns arise from statements provided by the Larsen Pack.
Per the Larsen Pack’s direct account, sensory deprivation was routinely used as a behavioral control method on young aegis beginning as early as age twelve. Additionally, they assert that no aegis would willingly interact with Dr. Steve Bureau in a positive or trusting capacity, contradicting the long-standing narrative portraying him as a paternal figure.
This firsthand testimony stands in stark conflict with the Artificial Packs Program’s periodic reports to the MAB. After hearing the Larsen Pack’s account, both the Solomon Pack and the Harris Pack reviewed multiple years of Program submissions that, until now, had gone largely unquestioned. These reports repeatedly portray the Program as providing a stable, nurturing environment meant to foster healthy pack formation among aegis minors.
However, none of these reports include any operational details or concrete descriptions of the methods actually used on the minors in their care. Instead, they consist only of broad assurances and general summaries, with no documentation of daily practices, oversight, or safeguards.
The Solomon Pack fully concurs with the Harris Pack’s view that these disclosures, should they prove accurate, indicate possible systemic abuse of young aegis. We therefore respectfully request that the Leadership Board direct the Artificial Packs Program to produce all internal records, including but not limited to:
- Detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Behavioral conditioning protocols
- Historical medical and psychological records of participating minors
- Any internal audits or disciplinary reports
We await Command’s determination of the appropriate legal and procedural channels to secure full compliance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The Chase of a Ghost
The next day I go through everything again at the DEA, briefing the team about Aranya. He’s now officially a person of interest: someone the system admits is worth watching, but not someone they can charge, at least not yet. It’s the best label we can slap on him until we have something solid enough to stick.
Right after the briefing, a man in uniform steps into the room, eyes scanning.
“Larsen pack?” he asks.
A few agents glance up.
“We’re right here,” I say.
He nods. “I need a word. Outside.”
We follow him down the corridor, and he waits until the door closes behind us to flip open a folder and pull out three sealed envelopes. He hands them out one by one.
“You’ve been served,” he says, then he walks away, like he just handed out mail, not court orders.
Jay tears his open first. “Our arraignment is at eight-thirty next Monday.”
It’s the worst timing possible. My head splits between the urge to focus on Aranya, on anything that might get us access to him, and the weight of the criminal charges hanging over us. In the end, the charges lose. There’s nothing I can do about them right now, and thinking about it just makes me twitchy, so I bury it and go back to work.
The more I dig into the FBI report on that son of a bitch, the more I want to forget caution. What if Aranya’s protected top to bottom, and there’s never a clean way in? Would it really be so wrong to cross a few lines if that’s what it takes to get justice?
But not long after, the fucking charges demand my attention again: Jayme calls. It’s shit having to deal with this twice in the same morning, but I don’t have a choice. I answer.
“Renner wants to speak with you,” Jayme says. “We scheduled a video call for this afternoon. Four p.m.”
I shift the phone to my other ear. “Where?”
“My office. I’ll send you the location.”
“We’ll be there.”
