I slept better than I had any right to.
Mera was still wrapped around me when my phone started screaming at six in the morning. Not a gentle alarm. The emergency contact tone I'd programmed for exactly one person.
Vivian.
I grabbed the phone without fully opening my eyes. Mera made a noise of protest as I shifted.
"What?"
"They moved up the timeline." Vivian's voice was tight. Controlled panic bleeding through professional composure. "Father just authorized transfer protocols for the stable facility subjects. They're being relocated tomorrow night."
Sleep vanished instantly.
"Tomorrow? We don't have the extraction framework finalized."
"I know. That's why I'm calling at six in the morning instead of sending an encrypted message." Papers shuffled on her end. "The relocation order came through an hour ago. Destination is the integration facility. All four subjects are being consolidated for what the documentation calls 'phase two evaluation.'"
