Chapter 23 · She Isn't in the File

Ryan's hand was still smoking when the file dropped into his visual feed.

LILY KASH. PRIORITY TARGET.

He didn't move. Couldn't. The name sat there in clean white text like it hadn't just punched a hole through his chest.

Derek was somewhere behind him, coughing and swearing and probably checking his wrist where the cuff had been. Ryan didn't turn around. He pulled the file open with a flick of his eyes and waited for his sister's face to load.

Nothing.

The file was a shell. Three lines of metadata and a timestamp from six months ago. No photo. No location. No records.

Ryan blinked hard and tried again. The same empty template stared back at him.

"What the hell is this?" he said out loud.

Derek's voice came from somewhere near the door. "What's what?"

"Shut up."

Ryan pulled up the search function and typed her name manually. Lily Kash. Born 2198, North American Fed district twelve, same as him. She'd be twenty-four now. Last time he'd seen her she was sixteen and telling him not to sign the corp contract.

The search came back blank.

He tried again. Lily Kash, district twelve, any records. Medical, residential, employment, traffic.