Page 62 of Shadow Burn

Jasper stopped. “Who?”

“Agency courier. He says he’s here under Upton’s authority to retrieve the Vance papers.”

The floor tilted beneath Katherine’s feet.

“The deadline isn’t up,” Jasper said. “Upton didn’t mention sending anyone.”

“He has a hard-copy transfer order with Katherine’s name, the Vance collection number, and what looks like an authorization code from Upton’s office,” Vivi said. “He’s also in a dark SUV with government-issued plates.”

Katherine’s stomach tightened. “How did he know I was here?”

The question stripped the last bit of air from the hallway.

Jasper’s gaze sharpened. “Not your laptop. I routed the Agency login through a shielded connection.”

“My phone?”

“Powered down and isolated.”

“Then how?”

“I don’t know.”

That answer scared her more than she wanted it to. Jasper always knew, or at least he knew where to start looking. The fact that this had reached the gate before he could explain how made the compound feel less sealed than it had five minutes ago.

Vivi’s expression had gone grim. “The order creates a problem. We can’t verify it without calling Upton’s office directly.”

“And if Upton sent him, he’ll confirm it,” Katherine said. “If he didn’t, we alert him that someone is using his name.”

“Either way, nothing leaves this compound,” Jasper said.

“Agreed,” Vivi said.

Jasper entered his office first, Katherine and Vivi on his heels. The bank of security monitors on the wall showed the front gate in crisp black-and-white. A dark SUV waited outside, clean government plates visible beneath the gate lights. A man stood beside the passenger door with a document folder tucked under one arm.

Jasper stepped to the console and adjusted the camera angle. The image sharpened, but not enough to give them a clean view of the man’s face. He looked like every federal courier Katherine had ever passed in a hallway: dark coat, patient posture, paperwork in hand, the bland confidence of someone who expected procedure to open doors.

“I’ll go look at the order,” Jasper said. “Nothing gets through the gate.”

“I’m going with you,” Katherine said.

“No.”

“You don’t know who he is.”

“That’s why you’re not going.”

“He asked for me.”

“That’s another reason you’re not going.”

His voice had gone flat and final. She hated it. She also understood it, which made hating it more complicated.

“Jasper—”

“You stay with Vivi. You do not step outside this building.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he was already moving. He opened a locked drawer in his desk, and Katherine saw the weapon as he clipped it at his waist.