“Then where is he now?” Lexi asks, very near hysterics. “Where is Brio now? Is he here, in Crache? Is he in Siccluna? Will he be there for weeks or months or years? Where is he?”

Her voice is steadily rising, higher than Taru has ever heard it in such formal company.

Taru leans down, placing a gauntleted hand on Lexi’s shoulder. “Te-Gen—” they begin quietly.

“No!”

Lexi shakes free of Taru’s hand, violently, rising to her feet.

“I want to see my husband!” she all but screams at the Protectorate Ministry wraith.

“Brio is dead,” Ginnix states flatly with all the warmth of a tombstone in winter.

Those three words succeed where Taru failed, breaking Lexi free from her outburst.

There’s even less emotion in Lexi’s voice when she says, “What happened?”

“Sicclunan agents discovered his true allegiance. They murdered him for it.”

“I want to see his body.”

“Of course. We’re working even now to recover it… that is to say, him. Brio was killed near the Sicclunan front. It will take some time—”

“I will see his body,” Lexi vows darkly. “None of this means anything until I do. Do you understand? Nothing you’ve said is worth a damn until I see my husband with my own eyes.”

It’s unclear whether Ginnix is offended or disturbed, but Lexi’s words obviously resonate.

“As I said, we will do all we can,” she reiterates carefully. “In the meantime, Ministry guards will be stationed in your cooperative for your assured safety.”

“Te-Gen’s safety is already quite assured,” Taru informs her.

Ginnix actually smiles. It’s a thin, joyless expression on her.

“I should also inform you, Te-Gen,” she says, looking again at Taru while speaking to Lexi. “The Gen Franchise Council will be summoning you once more in a week’s time. You will receive official notice soon. You see, if the case is left open and you and your Gen are left free of consequence, Brio’s true loyalties will always be in doubt.”

Lexi returns the smile, grimly. “So truth and law no longer have any place in this matter.”

“Both are being temporarily subverted for the greater good. But I assure you, once Brio’s mission is complete, everything you will appear to have lost will be restored.”

“Of course they will.”

“I’ll take my leave of you, then, if you have no more questions.”

“I have many questions,” Lexi says, “but I’ve gathered all the information from you I expect to.”

“Very well, then.”

The Ministry’s agent bows formally.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Lexi asks before Ginnix turns away from her. “How quickly one can go from servant of the state to enemy of the state to national hero?”

“We are all what Crache needs us to be, Te-Gen,” Ginnix says. “Function is purpose, after all.”

Lexi swallows whatever else she might have said, silently watching the woman’s black shoulder cape flutter away.

“Believe none of it, Te-Gen,” Taru urges her after Ginnix is gone from the tower. “Not a single word.”