Page 94 of Red Scale Daddy

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“Do not become accustomed to it.”

He leans toward his display. “Hinge angle twelve degrees.”

“Commanding fifteen.”

“Thirteen… fourteen… holding just under.”

“Acceptable.”

“You don’t look convinced.”

“My expression is irrelevant.”

He continues reading as I increase power. The vane moves, grinding but responsive.

“Seventeen… nineteen… twenty-one,” he says, his voice tightening slightly. “That does not sound healthy.”

“I am aware.”

“Twenty-three,” he adds. “Stabilizing.”

The system locks.

Partial control restored.

I draw in a breath?—

—and the scanner chirps.

Not an alarm.

A signal.

I freeze.

Dux notices immediately. His voice lowers. “Roma… what is it?”

I do not answer. I reroute, isolate, filter.

The tone repeats.

“It’s him,” I say in a tight voice.

Dux straightens. “The signal?”

“Yes,” I reply, turning toward him. “It’s his checksum.”

He studies my face. “You’re sure?”

“It’s his work,” I say, my voice unsteady despite my effort to control it.

He folds his arms slowly. “Could someone fake it?”

“Yes,” I snap, then force myself calmer. “But not easily.”

“So it could be bait.”

“It’s him.”

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