Chapter 18

“You know what’s going on?”

“They may have hired us for our piloting abilities, but we’re not stupid,” Matsura scoffed, falling into a plush seat. “Level 1 pilot is taken away, massive power outages followed by a sinkhole that destroyed our bar? Easy enough to figure out—one of those sources was a Level 1.”

Mari found herself nodding, impressed. Here she’d thought she’d have to explain everything. Now all she had to do was try to persuade them to keep their mouths shut about that information. “So, if I told you the higher-ups wanted you to keep quiet, would you be okay with that?” She studied her fellow comrades, who had settled onto couches and lounge chairs.

Matsura sighed and shook his head. “I think it’s a bit too late to try and keep the secret. The Level 2 sources have been up in arms all week and have been digging around, looking for an explanation. If we figured it out, I’m sure they have, too. We all know how good sources are at keeping gossip behind their teeth.”