Page 77 of Legacy Ascended

The first date and time was eight days before the appointment. The second was four days ago.

"Who?"

"That's the problem." Jon taps the authorization column. "Both times, they used your student number."

I read it again. Six figures I've written in the top right corner of every piece of work I've handed in since my first year.

"I didn't open this."

"I know."

"I've never even seen it. Somebody read the original approval to me in an office."

"I know."

I point at the second entry. "Four days ago at that time I was in with Bergström, having my arm measured. She signs a sheet for every appointment."

"Which is why we know you weren't the person at the terminal."

"And the first one was before the archive trip."

"Yes."

"So somebody could have opened this, seen when I was going and which road we'd take—"

"Yes."

"That's how they knew where I'd be."

Jon pauses. "It's consistent with how they knew."

"Jon."

"I know. But that's as far as the record gets us. We know somebody used your student number to open the file. We don't know who, and we don't know whether that person passed the information to anyone else."

I stare at the page.

Freya comes in without knocking and closes the door behind her with her back.

"I'm going to need that flat on the table," she says.

Freya photographs the page with the request number visible. I write the time down on a clean sheet with the date and what the page is and who was in the room, and Jon signs under it, and Freya signs under Jon, and nobody says anything the whole time except Freya asking twice whether the overhead light is throwing a shadow across the third line.

My hands are steady. I notice that and put it away to think about later.

"Where does the original go now?" I ask.

"The Chancellor has sealed the routing record. Nobody views that file again without two signatures and a reason."

"Four days late."

"Yes," Jon says.

I go back to change, because there's a thing at noon and I've got a sweater on that smells like Declan's cooking.

The suite is empty. There's a note on the table in Renzo's writing that says GONE TO VOSS. DO NOT EAT THE THING IN THE FRIDGE, IT IS SCIENCE.

My bedroom door is open, which it always is.