Ambrose Ward arrived in the Capital City just as the clouds began to weep, a grey, persistent drizzle cloaking the skyscrapers of Stonebridge in a thin veil of mist. Since he was still in the public vetting period for his new appointment, he wasn't in a hurry to report for duty. He spent the morning moving his meager belongings into a small, discreet apartment he kept in the city—a "safe house" far from the prying eyes of the provincial brass. After a long, scalding shower and a change into a fresh, tailored suit, he checked his watch. It was mid-afternoon.
It was time to pay his respects at the Harborside Compound.
The weather was turning foul, the wind whipping the rain into stinging needles against his windshield. As Ambrose’s black sedan approached the heavily fortified gates of the
