Thoughts of the upcoming meeting were the last thing on Junior's mind. As the elevator rose, he couldn't shake Marcus' casual admission.
Admission wasn't even the right word. You admitted to wrongdoing, to guilt, to something that needed excusing. Marcus had spoken about being Reclaimed the way one might acknowledge a simple fact, neither pride nor shame attached.
Which meant he'd probably answer questions willingly if asked. And that, paradoxically, made Junior hesitate. Too much interest might say more about him than he intended.
The other problem was his uncle. Millie had been right after all.
Orestes Stoneberg never made suggestions casually. If Marcus was open about being Reclaimed, then Orestes certainly knew. Which meant that recommending Maritime Observation Site Delta as a safe, contained entry point into T&S operations had never been about logistics alone.
It had been about placement.
Was Marcus the 'door' Orestes had left ajar, trusting Junior to notice on his own?
Paranoia and curiosity circled within Junior's mind as he followed Marcus through the corridor. Achilles guided at his side, while Junior's cane tapped against unfamiliar flooring. The Annex operated smoothly around them: people passing, voices kept low, footsteps steady and intent.
There was a brief hitch in the flow whenever someone registered the dog's presence; moments of surprise, followed by assessment of the harness, and recalculation. Then, corporate inclusiveness training reasserted itself. Eyes averted and neutral masks of politeness rendered Achilles essentially invisible. Whatever curiosity had surfaced was filed away and never voiced.
Marcus led them to a conference room and opened the door to let them inside.
Junior's mind was still turning thoughts over when they entered, too distracted to register the room the way he usually did. He only realized they weren't alone when a woman spoke.
"Mr. Stoneberg," Alexis Phokas said evenly. "Thank you for coming."
The meeting room was long and spare, centred around a polished table with chairs evenly spaced along both sides. Water glasses had already been set, untouched, their presence a quiet signal that the meeting had been anticipated rather than improvised. Alexis was to the right, and another woman was across the table on the left.
Junior inclined his head in the direction of Alexis' voice. "You're welcome," he replied.
Marcus moved down the table and stopped there.
"Before we begin, allow me to perform the introductions," Marcus said. "I understand you are already more familiar with Alexis than I am."
"Yes," Junior acknowledged simply.
"To your left is Ione Damaris," Marcus nodded as he continued. "President and CEO of T&S Marine Enterprises."
"I'm glad you accepted the invitation," Ione said. "It's been some time since we last met. Do you still prefer to go by Junior?"
Junior turned slightly toward her voice, noting the practiced confidence but with a subtle tightening in her tone.
"You remember correctly, Ms. Damaris," he replied. Then, curiously, "I thought it's just … T&S now?"
Marcus's lips twitched; Alexis's more so. Ione's voice stayed smooth, but the tension lingered like an unspoken reprimand. She didn't look at Marcus, but the absence carried the weight of a glare.
"You're right, we've been T&S for years," she said, her easy tone edged with rebuke. "And please, Junior, call me Ione."
The quirk to Marcus' lips didn't fade. "With introductions out of the way, your seat is just in front of you," he said, indicating the head of the table closest to Junior.
"Thank you," Junior replied. "Chair," he added quietly with a slight pressure on the harness.
Achilles guided him forward without fuss. Junior folded his cane and rested it against the table leg, then sat down. Achilles settled beneath his hand, solid and familiar - a steady point of contact in a room designed for abstraction.
Marcus took his own seat last.
"With introductions complete," Marcus said, "let's move on. The purpose of this briefing is to bring you up to speed on Maritime Observation Site Delta; its capabilities, responsibilities, and current status within T&S operations."
Junior exhaled slowly. The word briefing made him tense. Not because of the information - the company had always been something he sidestepped - but because his presence meant responsibility he'd been avoiding for years.
Marcus continued. "MOS-D serves as our primary deep-sea monitoring node. Its role is threefold: environmental surveillance, logistical oversight of T&S maritime assets, and incident reporting for emergent anomalies. Think of it as both eyes and ears at sea: a sentinel that operates continuously, feeding data to our main operations centre."
He paused to let the words sink in. Junior gave voice to the first question that occurred to him.
"Why does T&S … do we need to monitor the sea?" Junior asked.
He didn't soften the question or apologize for its simplicity. He knew he had kept himself deliberately distant from the machinery of his inheritance, and everyone in the room knew it too. But he was here now, and that mattered.
Marcus inclined his head once, accepting the premise rather than correcting it.
"MOS-D exists to give us situational awareness," he said. "Not just of the water itself, but of what moves through it."
He spoke without flourish, as if reciting something long settled.
"On the environmental side, we track current shifts, temperature gradients, contaminant spikes, and biological events that could affect intake systems, shipping lanes, or protected zones. That data feeds into both civil agencies and our own infrastructure planning. Operationally, MOS-D manages automated docking schedules, traffic deconfliction, and uncrewed patrol assets operating within the harbour envelope. When something deviates from baseline, the site flags it before it becomes an incident."
Junior absorbed that in silence.
"Finally," Marcus continued, "MOS-D serves as a coordination node. During storms, spills, mechanical failures, or regional alerts, it functions as a shared operations centre with the Coast Guard and port authority. Jurisdiction remains theirs. Data, logistics, and infrastructure support are ours."
He paused, then added, "The facility is fully staffed, hardened, and redundant. You won't be involved in daily operations. But your authorization is required for budget ceilings, escalation thresholds, and emergency protocol activation. Strategically, it answers to you."
The words landed cleanly. Not ownership by immersion; ownership by recognition.
Ione took that opening smoothly.
"It's designed to function whether you're present or not," she said. "That's deliberate. Stability matters. But engagement gives you leverage. Strategic priorities, capital investment, long-term positioning: those are areas where your voice carries weight."
Her tone remained professional, but purposeful.
"Marcus runs the site. Alexis safeguards your authority. My role here is largely contextual; to ensure alignment at the executive level, and to demonstrate that nothing is being obscured from you."
Alexis spoke next, quietly, but with precision.
"This isn't a technical briefing," she said to Junior. "You don't need to understand individual systems. What matters is scope, consequence, and control. MOS-D influences shipping, environmental exposure, emergency response, and regulatory posture. Decisions made there ripple outward."
Junior nodded. "Purpose before detail."
Ione leaned forward a fraction.
"MOS-D underpins our maritime autonomy," she said. "But autonomy only works if authority is clear. You don't need to implement decisions. You need to know when they're required, and what they affect."
"And to be explicit," Alexis added, "nothing here circumvents you. The Trust owns the asset. T&S operates it as steward. That balance holds unless you decide otherwise."
A thin line of tension passed through Ione's voice when she replied, smooth but contained. "Of course."
Junior let the silence stretch. Marcus delivered substance. Alexis enforced structure. Ione tested boundaries without crossing them.
He straightened in his chair.
"Understood," he said. "Purpose, priorities, oversight. Not execution."
"Exactly," Marcus said. "You'll receive decision briefs, escalation notices, and regular assessments. No more than necessary."
"And if I choose to remain hands-off?" Junior asked.
Alexis answered without hesitation. "Then operations continue within the framework already approved. Your authority remains intact. Nothing proceeds outside it."
Ione said nothing. She didn't need to.
Junior exhaled slowly, Achilles steady beneath his hand. The briefing had done its job. The lines were clear. The weight was real, but contained.
What happened next would be his choice.
The remainder of the meeting unfolded without incident. Budget parameters were clarified. Reporting structures confirmed. A handful of minor questions were answered and set aside. Nothing contentious; nothing that required Junior to assert himself beyond acknowledging where authority ultimately rested.
When Marcus finally closed the discussion, it felt less like an ending than a release.
"That should cover it," he said.
Chairs shifted as people began to stand.
Marcus turned to Junior. "I can walk you to the elevator, if you like."
"I've got him," Ione said at once.
The timing was not accidental. Neither was the tone. It was polite, reasonable and final.
Marcus hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Of course. Good work today, Junior."
Alexis approached as the room cleared. "I'll send you the summaries," she said, her voice calm and precise. "Let me know if you want anything expanded."
Junior inclined his head. "Thank you."
When Alexis stepped back, Ione was already waiting.
"Ready?" she asked.
Junior rose, Achilles moved with him, and fell into step beside her without comment.
They walked together toward the exit, the space between them neither formal nor intimate: simply shared.
"You don't need to force yourself into the machinery of this place," Ione said as they went. "If your involvement stays strategic, that's fine. My job is to make sure the company runs well either way."
Junior didn't respond immediately.
"But," she continued, carefully, "when something does matter to you - when you decide to engage - you should know you have access to the full weight of the organization. Information. Resources. T&S is here for you."
Junior acknowledged it with a small nod.
"I appreciate the clarity," he said.
They reached the elevators.
Ione smiled, professional and unforced. "That's what I'm here for."
The doors opened. They entered, and Junior considered everything that had happened as he started his journey home.