“He did,” says Hail. She nods across the car. “He was my contact. He was the one who got Lear into the airducts. He’s another stray, just like me.”

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND. Why are we doing this now?”

Why not tomorrow? Or the day after that? Any time long enough for me to feel a little less like death. Even with the stim bubbling in my stomach, I’m a long way from flying.

Hail shakes her head. “We don’t have much choice. It’s now, or not at all.”

“Just call Tower and—”

“And what?”

I frown at her. “Ask for a window, obviously.”

Salt leans in. “There isn’t anyone to talk to, Rook. Tower’s turning itself inside-out.”

“What? Why?”

Hail growls. “Horizon froze, and it wasn’t just Tower. This whole ship seized up at the first sign of trouble, and now they’re locking it down. True NorCol style; if you can’t trust someone else to screw it up, best you screw it up yourself.”

“But the hollows are gone.” It’s a moment before I realise that Andrade is watching us, listening. It’s the first time I’ve used the word where someone else could hear it.

He doesn’t skip a beat. “They are,” he says, watching me, “thanks to you, but that doesn’t mean anything yet. I’m the only other person on this boat who has any idea what happened, and that isn’t saying much.”

I blink. “Someone said that there was a line into the hangar. That was you?”

He nods. “I was assigned to look in on Sigurd’s little pod, but when Hail pulled her little stunt”—Hail glares at him, but he deflects it—“I didn’t know who was responsible at first, so I had to treat it as if there were hostile actors involved. I took precautions. When you were sortied to respond to the attack, I needed eyes on it. You fought well.”

It tugs at my chest. “What did you see?”

“That we’re in more trouble than anyone realises. I leaked the feed to Tower, and to some of the few remaining brass that actually live on this damn ship. I banked on someone picking it up, actually doing something to solve the problem, but all it did was spook them. They’re running scared, lashing out.”

“Couldn’t you just have told them?”

He almost smiles. “You don’t know what Werewolves are, do you? Tower doesn’t know who I am any more than decontam does.” For half a heartbeat, I can see how tired he is. “Even if I took this higher in person, kicked their damn doors down, Bridge is nonfunctional. They wouldn’t understand. I’d have to pull them out of their bottles first.”

“Christs. You mean—”

“That Horizon is dead from the neck up?” He almost chuckles. “Would you be surprised?”