The System Hunter

Chapter 36: The Hunter Who Signed His Own Risk

Valeen Cruz could earn two hours by arresting Elias. Instead, she asked to see the evidence that might cost her career.

June's inspection feed showed a live conductor beneath rising water, its insulation split near a relay junction. There was no need to exaggerate. If the water reached the cable, the maintenance mirror could short while it held the only raw copy of the authorization packet.

"I can certify a hazard," Valeen said. "I can't cancel a regional reconciliation."

"We need five minutes to place a hold," Tessa answered. "The clinical receiving stations must be blocked from accepting new signing packets until the challenge audit finishes."

Valeen read the safety request in silence. Her credential would make her personally responsible for the decision. Hunters could collect enormous rewards for enforcement; they also incurred enormous penalties for stopping lawful operations. The System had designed the balance between those outcomes to favor obedience.

"Your proof is good enough for a hearing," she said. "Not good enough to prove Kade acted intentionally."

"Then don't accuse him," Elias replied. "Certify the conductor and the water. Both are in front of you."

She placed her badge against the request. An acknowledgment appeared, followed by a red debit warning.

UNSCHEDULED SAFETY HOLD.

CERTIFYING HUNTER DEPOSIT: 00:45:00.

REFUNDABLE UPON INSPECTION.

Forty-five minutes came off Valeen's balance. She flinched, not because the number was large for her, but because she had expected the price to be less. For a ranked hunter, hours usually accumulated after a successful pursuit. She had never needed to budget the ordinary minutes lost walking a hallway. Elias saw her perform the arithmetic now, and understood that their cooperation might last only as long as their interests overlapped. Elias recognized the particular fear of watching a clock fall through a floor you had trusted.

"There," she said. "The system has my blood now. Use the minutes."

The reconciliation counter froze at 00:04:38. A second timer started beneath it.

SAFETY INSPECTION HOLD: 00:05:00.

Tessa guided Rafi through the process of copying the event sequence to a portable evidence drive. She made him read each checksum aloud while Mara compared it to the printout. The ritual sounded pointless until the relay began displaying a corrupted file size. Their handwritten figures would show which version existed before the corruption.

At the gate, the twelve permit holders began chanting the numbers of their balances, one after another. Anika organized them into pairs so anyone whose clock fell dangerously low would be identified before collapsing. Nolan used the repaired emergency release to open the outside ventilation louvers. Air moved into the crowded corridor for the first time in twenty minutes.

Elias met Dr. Orin at the gate control desk. She had obtained a paper order from a human adjudicator acknowledging that Mara's lethal disposition remained suspended. The order was narrow: it protected Mara, not the other contestants and not Elias. Still, it gave them one independent authority outside the compromised rehearsal packet.

"The clinical receivers use signed update packets," the doctor said. "But they also accept a local medical-injury hold. It has to be keyed at each station. A districtwide relay switch isn't safe."

"How many stations?"

"Five. Three for implants, two for treatment equipment. We leave the treatment channels alone. The implant stations can be placed under individual safety quarantine."

Elias examined the floor plan. Five stations, three that mattered to the debit. Too far apart for one person in five minutes. He assigned Mara and Orin to the clinical receiver; Rafi to the service gallery; himself and Valeen to the gate annex. Each team needed an independent physical witness. June joined Rafi. Anika joined Mara. Nolan accompanied Elias.

Tessa remained at the board to document the resulting certificates. Nobody was acting alone, which meant nobody could quietly forge the entire sequence afterward.

The first two stations accepted their holds. The gate annex rejected the third with a single line. Over the channel, Mara reported that Orin had kept the medication equipment connected and manually checked every dosage before leaving the room. There would be no victory if saving countdown accounts deprived a patient of treatment. Elias relayed that fact to Valeen, who added it to her certification record instead of assuming the System would distinguish one safety duty from another.

HUNTER AUTHORITY CONFLICT.

CURRENT INSPECTOR IS SUBJECT TO DETENTION CONTRACT.

Valeen looked from the notice to Elias. The detention contract was still active under her name, despite her refusal to claim it.

"Cancel it," he said.

"I can't. Someone above me issued it as mandatory."

The safety timer reached 00:02:11. Valeen's screen brightened.

MANDATORY DETENTION ENFORCEMENT BEGINS IN 00:02:00.