Chapter Fifty-Four
“No, no, no,” Julia howled as she read the report. She balled up her fists and pounded them so hard on her table that her plate and bowl of soup rattled. Some of the contents spilled over the lip of the bowl.
Impossible.
The word flooded her mind. Minor failures were acceptable, but such a complete reversal on one of her most important plans was unfathomable. This wasn’t a minor low-level operation, but a key component of her long-term strategy.
Julia took pride in her patience. It was hard to be a member of the Core and not be patient. When she’d set up the mission to send her agents to the comet, she’d known that in the best-case scenario, it would take years to see results. It’d never occurred to her that she’d have nothing to show for it.
Not even a single artif
