Page 183 of Black Reign

GHOST: Did he work for Blackwell?

The typing indicator appears.

Then disappears.

I wait.

Ten seconds.

Thirty.

A minute.

VESPER: Once.

There it is.

My pulse hits once, hard.

I reach for the tablet and open the Beaumont file.

ADRIEN BEAUMONT

French-American.

Systems architecture.

Classified government work before Blackwell.

ARGUS access.

Deceased.

The file contains family information, but that portion remains restricted behind an older compartment I haven't opened yet.

I could open it.

Probably in minutes.

Maybe seconds.

Find his daughter.

Find Vesper.

The realization hits with startling clarity.

She's right there.

Her identity may be sitting one authentication layer away.

My thumb hovers over the command.

For years I've wanted this.

A name.

A face.