No one could have predicted how fast the tide would turn.
Barely a few minutes earlier, Gareth Quinn had been savoring every moment of the farewell, needling Ambrose Ward with thinly veiled contempt, transforming what should have been a simple send-off into something that felt more like a funeral procession for the task force's credibility. The atmosphere in the Authority Refectory had been thick with schadenfreude, every official present quietly relishing the spectacle of a young investigator being shown the door.
And now, in the space of a few heartbeats, the entire tableau had inverted. The task force was staying, the inquiry would continue, and Ambrose was not merely refusing to leave, he was demanding that Director Quinn accompany him back to the Joint Task Force Lodgings for a form
