Page 130 of Silver Elite

“I’m looking at one right now. Same one that’s always there, anchored in the cove. White hull with a blue stripe. Red flag waving on the captain’s perch.”

“Does it have a name?”

“Too far away to tell.”

“We should name it.”

“I’m shit at naming things. You do it.”

“All right. How about Knot So Fast?”

“Fuck’s sake, Daisy.”

“Finny Business?”I chortle at my own jokes, then slam my lips shut when I remember I’m in public.

His laughter tickles my ear.“You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

“You laughed.”

“At you, not with you.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Wolfie.”

I fall silent for a moment, staring off into the distance. I remember Peter’s heartbroken face over being punished for a crime he hadn’t committed. Accused of killing six people who are still very much alive.

“Do you believe in fate?”I ask Wolf.

“I don’t know…Maybe? Sometimes I feel like I have control over my destiny, but then something happens and I wonder if maybe there’s some higher power pulling the strings.”

“But if there is, then what’s the point of even trying? If everything is already set in motion, then our actions, our choices, are meaningless, aren’t they?”

He pauses in thought.“Maybe our choices are the catalysts that set the course of events in motion. Maybe our fate isn’t so much predetermined as it is influenced by the decisions we make.”

I frown, grappling with the idea.“So you’re saying we do have some control over our destinies, but that control is limited by the circumstances we find ourselves in?”

“Exactly. Maybe we can’t change the fundamental trajectory of our lives, but we can adjust the details along the way. It’s like navigating an ocean current. We can’t change its course, but we can choose which path to take as we flow along with it.”

I run a hand through my hair as I stare out at the dark base. I suppose it’s a comforting thought, the idea that we still have some control over our own lives. But deep down, I can’t shake the feeling of unease that lingers in the back of my mind. I wonder what the future holds in store for me. Whether my path has already been laid out, or if I still have the power to shape my own destiny.

I return to the bunks. The lights are out, but some recruits are still up, their faces illuminated by the faint white glow of their sources. Kaine is still awake, the blanket pushed down to his waist. His chest is bare, a broad expanse of shadows and muscle.

He watches me lace up my boots.

“You okay?” he murmurs.

“I’m not tired. I’m going to take a walk.”

“Try not to let Hadley see you.”

Doesn’t matter. I know those cameras will follow my every move. And I know Cross will know I’m out here.

What Idon’tknow is whether I hope that he finds me, or that he stays away.

The night air is balmy as I exit the facility. My mind is so restless. I wander aimlessly, the soft tread of my boots the only sound in thestillness of the base. I end up near the South Plaza again, where I think about Uncle Jim and the morning he left me.

Just as I’m beginning to feel the weight of my solitude, I hear footsteps behind me.

“Always making me chase you.” His low voice breaks the silence, sending a shiver down my spine.

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