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things for you, Agent Li.” Gabriel stepped close, towering a head over Li. To his credit, the agent didn’t budge.
    “First, this is a U.S. Army installation. This is not ‘your’ playground. This is not ‘your’ anything. ” The major’s forceful breath mushroomed the hood of his suit. “Second, this is not a crime scene. It’s not a crime scene until I decide this is a crime scene. Are we clear?”
    “Absolutely, sir.” Tara stepped forward, letting her fingers rest lightly on Li’s sleeve in warning. She could feel him glowering at her, and sweat glossed her brow. She extended her sticky-gloved hand to Gabriel. “Tara Sheridan. We just need to do a quick look over. Standard procedure, fill out some forms, and we’ll be out of your hair.”
    Gabriel took her hand, and she felt the tension in his grip. “Ms. Sheridan.” He flipped his gaze, bright as cornflowers, to Li and back to her. His weathered skin looked sunburned beneath the plastic shield. He wasn’t assigned here; he was too much brass. Someone had gone to considerable trouble to bring him in from somewhere distant, some latitude that had enough sun this time of year to burn flesh.
    “We’ll file our report with your office.” She nodded at him as she spoke ( yes-yes-yes ), giving him the impression of agreement. “Formalities.” She kept her posture low, looked up at him with an expression she hoped he took as submission.
    He squinted at her. “Fine,” he snapped. He gestured, and a petite woman in another white suit materialized beside him. “Dr. DiRosa will assist you. She worked with Magnusson. Keep it short. We have work to do.”
    “Thank you, Major.”
    “Ma’am.” He turned away from them, back to his laptop. She and Li were dismissed.
    DiRosa gestured and walked back toward the ruined machine. “This way.”
    Li let DiRosa get a few steps away. Seething, he yanked Tara’s elbow, started to say something, but she held up her hand.
    “You can chew me out for emasculating you and kissing Gabriel’s ass later,” she hissed. Her fear made her impatient, and she could feel her empathy draining right out of her, with the cold sweat trickling down her shoulder blades. Breathe.
    “They are taking our evidence,” Li snarled.
    “And you can either be quiet and gather some information, or throw a tantrum, and get nothing.” Tara’s eyes narrowed. “Now, promise to play nicely with the other kids, and perhaps they’ll let us play with their toys.”
    Li’s brown eyes blazed in wrath. She’d pushed his buttons, and he was ready to ignite. She didn’t have time for this kind of rigidity. She trotted off after DiRosa, letting Li stomp along in her wake.
    “Dr. DiRosa.” Tara kept her expression soft, neutral. “What can you tell us about this?” Her gloved hand sketched the hulk of the particle accelerator.
    “It blew up yesterday night at 2343, ma’am. Security logged Dr. Magnusson entering the site at 1945.” Though she had been introduced as Magnusson’s colleague, DiRosa’s speech cadences were pure military. Gabriel had turned them over to someone who would handle them perfectly. Tara looked at her sidelong through the shiny plastic mask. Her almond eyes were bloodshot and puffy beneath the careful makeup and salon-highlighted blonde hair. She knew Magnusson. She liked Magnusson. Despite her words, his disappearance had rattled her. Tara could use that to her advantage.
    “Was he alone?” Li’s voice strained through gritted teeth. To his credit, he was swallowing his anger and moving forward. Good man.
    “Yes.”
    “Where was he last seen?”
    “Security cameras caught him entering the accelerator room at 2210. He stayed in frame until approximately 2330.”
    “Did he turn on the machine?”
    “Yes.”
    “We’ll need a copy of the tape.”
    “Of course.”
    Tara didn’t hold out hope they’d get it. From what Tara could discern beneath the white suit, DiRosa’s body language was tense and