James discovered the Shroud manipulation research three days after receiving his handler's escalation demand.
It was almost accidental.
He'd been studying in the library's restricted section—accessible to first-years only with an instructor's permission, which he'd obtained by claiming he needed historical context for his Warfare Tactics assignment. The librarian had been distracted, waved him through without checking specifics.
He'd been looking for general information about dimensional theory. Trying to understand how the Shroud worked without revealing why he was interested.
And he'd found it.
A technical manual, filed incorrectly in the historical section rather than the classified military section where it belonged. Someone's clerical error that would probably be discovered and corrected eventually.
But not yet.
Dimensional Stabilization Protocols: Experimental Applications for Breach Mitigation
