# THOMPSON-HAYES: THE INSIDE OUT
## Chapter Thirty-Six — Gerald Reed Pleads
Vance called Saturday morning at nine.
She was at the table with coffee and the Carrie thread-six document — she had been reading it since six, working through every name, every connection, the full architecture laid out with the specific clarity of Carrie's method. Six threads. Seven states. Four founding investors. One senator.
"I've read Carrie's document," Vance said. "Three times."
"And?" Mia said.
"And I need twenty-four hours before I can tell you what happens next," Vance said. "The senator's name activates a different protocol. This goes to people above my pay grade before anything moves." She paused. "What I can tell you right now is this: don't discuss the senator's name outside your current circle
