Page 7 of Synnr's Ride

"It's in Hanna Karsyn's file," he agreed, and yet his tone suggested otherwise.

She groaned and put her head in her hands. At least she wasn't being handcuffed during these things anymore. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm Hanna Karsyn. I wasn't working under a fake identity. My handler assured me that it would be fine and that my real identity would do well for the mission. There was no reason to lie."

"You planted a bomb on a university campus and stole important research."

"It wasn't a bomb and it wasn't me. The Apsyns responsible were taken into custody." She had to take a deep breath to get her heartrate under control. She'd told Jori this a dozen times, and other interrogators too. No one wanted to believe her. Time to try again. "I knew something would happen that day. It was a distraction. I hacked into an admin computer at the same time, I should be on security footage."

"You're not. You know the footage was wiped." He stood and grabbed a bottle of water from the small table behind him. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No."

Distraction. Get her riled up and then wrong-foot her. This guy knew how to ask questions. Hanna would have been concerned if she was lying.

"How many SynStar bikes would you guess are on Aorsa?" Solan asked. He made a small notation and waited for her answer.

Hanna thought for a moment. "Maybe a couple hundred. And none new this year because of the war. What's this from? What happened?"

Solan plucked the photo from her hands and put it back in his file.

Before he could say anything else, the door opened and Major Ozar stuck her head in. She was about Hanna's mother's age and had the firm expression of a career military officer. "Wrap it up, Zadra."

Solan got to his feet and gathered up the file. "I'm done here, ma'am. I'll have my report to you soon. It will be illuminating."

Hanna narrowed her eyes. She hadn't told him anything he didn't know about her. And he could have learned about the bike from anywhere. What was he playing at? Was he trying to frame her for something?

Major Ozar gave Hanna an assessing look before turning and leading Solan out of the room.

Hanna slumped back in her chair. She wasn't sure what that was all about, but she was afraid she was going to find out.

3

Jori could still feelthe grit of dust and debris abrade his skin. It didn't matter that he'd showered twice already and soaked in a tub for nearly an hour. Soap and water couldn't wash away the horror of the attack.

He'd found a body.

It wasn't the first corpse he'd seen. It hadn't been particularly gruesome. The victim almost looked like he was napping, if you ignored the giant piece of metal piercing his chest.

Another restless night had him yawning as he marched into work. He'd wanted a distraction from the sweat soaked, seductive dreams of Hanna, but he'd take them back in a heartbeat. What he wanted most was this war to be over.

But even that was its own kind of cruel lie. Jori needed this war. Wars were where military careers were made and lost. If he distinguished himself, he'd come out of this with a higher rank, more responsibility, and the respect of superiors who currently didn't know his name.

"Harek!" came Major Ozar's summons.

Well. There was one superior who did know his name, and Jori wasn't sure that was a good thing. It was difficult to believe this was the woman who'd raised Oz, a fellow soldier who had an even temper and rarely said an unkind word.

Though, if he was being fair, he couldn't say the major was unkind. She was just... busy.

He hurried past desks piled with papers and around soldiers who looked like they hadn't slept in weeks, despite the fact that the explosion had only happened three days ago. He knew the feeling. He'd been working with Oz and his Match, Emily Saint, on cleanup and investigation.

The major's office was incredibly neat. The area around the desk was clear of papers and electronics, and Jori was pretty sure dust would shrivel up and disappear in fear before the major could spot it.

The only ornamentation was a small shelf with a picture of Oz and a man Jori didn't recognize along with two medals, one bearing the royal seal.

Major Ozar nodded for him to take a seat. The chair beneath him was firm, the cushion cold beneath his fingertips.

He'd been in exactly one general's personal office, and it had been as ornate as he imagined the queen's throne room. The major rejected adornment and she didn't stand on ceremony.

Major Ozar clicked a button on her keyboard and an image was projected on the wall behind her. "We were able to identify the fusion cycle speeding away from the scene. It's a SynStar model 5.2, produced three years ago in a small factory in Vanen. Forty-seven of this model have been imported on Aorsa. We only got a partial look at the ID on the vehicle, but combined with knowledge of the model, our researchers have uncovered this man."

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