‘Prepare for the burst and then a scattering,’ the senior Master ordered.‘Preparations under way.’‘Where and when shall we meet?’ a Master...asked.‘Spend time gathering resources and rebuilding our harvesting fleets as well as restoring Reelc numbers. Every one hundred stellar cycles send a scout to the binary star cluster in this sector and wait for a signal with the details of a location to re-assemble,’ the senior Master instructed.‘So we skulk in the shadows?’ a Master asked unhappily.‘If you. The ME’s initial analysis points to heart failure.”Shepherd thought for a moment. Bilson had been a homophobic, mysogynistic asshole, but she hadn’t wished him dead. Well, not for more than a few minutes at a time. Heart attack made sense; he had been overweight, certainly not up to the fitness level expected of a police officer.“You never knew when you’re gonna go, huh?” One of the other female officers whispered to Shepherd. Dianna nodded.“Dismissed,” said the captain.I dropped in on Monday. New customers walked out with a numbered account with their names sealed in Pirates Bank system. Funds deposited in Pirates Bank gained no interest.When funds were sent to National Bank that were destined for Pirates Bank, a bank director withdrew the money and physically carried it across the street, listing it as a cash withdrawal on the electronic accounts. Certain electronic transactions were never recorded as being received.My security team had loaded twenty of the gold bars and four bags. Fresh garlic, heavy cream, chicken broth, red pepper flakes, onions. And the cilantro.“Here,” I continued. “Can I have some of that cilantro now?”“Yeah, sure, whatever you need.” Mel was definitely fidgety.I scraped the choppings into the sauce and stirred firmly.“Mel. Just be truthful with me. Please? You showed me your diary for a reason, you wanted me to know about you. So just… let me know.”“Alright,” she said quietly. “It’s over. But I’m kind of afraid of him. I was so… attached to.