章節 16: Chapter 16: The Panel

The official investigation began a few days later and Azia and Zeke both welcomed the distraction with open arms. They had not seen each other since the infamous kiss in the conference room.

The first week of the investigation took place in the great hall of the Bronson compound. None of the conference rooms were large enough to fit both the jury or the investigation panel into a single room. Several tables had been carried in to form a long line where the panel could sit and face those they questioned. The jury, a group of twenty that had been randomly selected from both compounds, sat in evenly spaced chairs perpendicular to the investigation panel.

Azia and Zeke sat on opposite ends of the panel, as representatives of both compounds. Violet, Vivian's cousin and the Bronson Gamma, was Azia's second in command on the panel. The large, plump woman had long dark hair like Azia's, save for two large white chunks that framed her elderly face.