Chapter Five - The List Behind the Backup Door

Two wounded never got logged. Three cold boxes were pulled before the lockout." Elliot crouched and started flipping pages. The alterations were real. Names crossed off. Others added. Whoever did it was careful, but not careful enough to hide the sequencing gaps. "Who changed the list?" he asked Sophie. She did not answer at first. "I did," she said finally. Mara spun toward her. "I adjusted the count," Sophie said, forcing the words through. "If some people weren't on paper, the system wouldn't flag them. It bought us another night." "And the people you crossed off?" Carl asked. "They weren't guaranteed to die." "That's not any different than throwing them out," Lucy said flatly. Sophie's eyes shut. "No," she said. "It isn't."