Chapter 7

The wind outside the hotel was freezing, but the countdown on my phone was colder.

Forty-eight hours.

The email from IT gave no reason, stating only that legacy records would be "purged" and un-migrated files could not be recovered.

I called the IT department three times, only to get the same answer over and over: this was a routine arrangement approved by management, and they lacked the authority to pause it.

"Approved by whom?" I asked.

A pause came from the other end of the line.

"Naomi, you'd better ask Marcus directly about this."

I hung up, standing across the…