The government man from the Harbor City Health Directorate arrived in a cloud of dust and arrogance. He was Mr. Thorne, his immaculate linen suit and polished shoes an unforgiving declaration of a world far, far away from Riverside's mud brick and hard-fought hope. He had arrived, he said, for a "routine evaluation," but his chilly, calculating eyes scanned the clinic's equipment and the school's substantial building with the gaze of an accountant who had found discrepancies.
Reuben, still shaken by the weight of the National Map, was struck with a fresh wave of exhaustion. This was a battle on a front he didn't have the strength for. He allowed Anna, whose practical skills were a bulwark against such government incursions, to handle the man.
She led Thorne through, her tone level and ma
