ASSURANCE

In Cineris, rescue arrives by tier: Bronze, Silver, Platinum. The towers stay spotless; the Char burns on schedule. Kara Holt runs the last volunteer fire crew into the neighbourhoods no plan covers, losing ground every night.

Then an analyst in the tower finds the reason buried in the models: the fires below aren't accidents. They're line items. The largest one has a date, and the district attached to it is still full of people.

There is no arsonist to stop. There is a meeting, a model, and a name signed under every order by a man who never reads what he signs, and the machine behind them is already moving.