Page 121 of Pocket Wife

Noll confers with someone off-screen. I watch Lucy watching Nara. The child in Nara’s arms sleeps through the argument that might decide whether his family has to leave the basin by nightfall.

Corvek knows exactly where to press.

“Reviewer,” he says, “Helix will fund immediate transport, medical continuity, and sheltering for all central basin residents. No resident need suffer while this uncertainty is resolved.”

Nara’s mouth trembles.

Not because she trusts him.

Because fear for a child does not care who holds the transport keys.

I look back at the filing.

Emergency infrastructure risk petition.

Proposed interim safety radius.

Shelter capacity attached.

I open the attachment metadata.

Sen’s eyes flick toward me.

Too late.

I go dangerously still.

Not from calm.

From precision.

“Adjudicator,” I say. “Permit me to enter the filing metadata into record.”

Sen snaps, “Objection. Irrelevant to immediate safety.”

Salo’s eyes narrow. “Basis, Specialist?”

“Helix made shelter capacity part of its safety remedy. The timing and purpose of that shelter plan are relevant to whether the proposed evacuation is emergency mitigation or preplanned clearance.”

Noll speaks before Salo can. “Allowed for limited safety-purpose review.”

I place the metadata on the tribunal screen.

Prepared shelter site map.

Creation date: six months prior.

Revision date: eighteen days prior.

Final radius overlay: forty-six hours prior.

Before First Hall opened.

Before the north cistern revealed the registry.

Before Helix claimed contamination risk.

The meeting hall does not erupt this time.