The CGI building wore its new military skin like a suit that didn't quite fit. Soldiers in tactical gear stood where plainclothes agents used to lounge. A fresh checkpoint blocked the main entrance—metal detectors, scanners, and hard eyes where yesterday nobody had even glanced up.
I let them run their scanner over me, the machine beeping cold and official. Then I walked through into the wide concrete yard.
Mercury was already outside waiting. The second she spotted me, a sharp, knowing smile cut across her face. It had diagnosis written all over it.
"You look terrible," she said, falling into step beside me as we headed for the main doors. Her boots clicked against the pavement.
"Less sleep," I answered.
"Less sleep," she repeated, shooting me a sideways look. Her eyes dragged over me slowly. "You look exactly like a man who spent the whole night fucking the life out of Sherry. Poor girl probably can't walk straight today."
