The second crisis came when one of Hope's network specialists—Marcus Chen, dimensional healer from Singapore who'd been with the network since week two of her teaching program—went completely dark, which meant he stopped responding to comms, abandoned his post, disappeared from tracking, and triggered Hope's first real panic attack since the battle.
"He was reliable." Hope's voice was shaking while reviewing his file. "Marcus was one of my best students. Third-generation learner. Trained specialists under him. Had access to combined healing protocols. And now—now he's just gone."
Just gone. Right. Vanished without explanation or goodbye.
"Could be medical emergency." Vera's hopeful theory. "Personal crisis. Family situation. Doesn't have to mean betrayal."
Doesn't have to mean betrayal. Right. Except Hope's dimensional awareness was screaming that wasn't what happened.
