Bourne stood. A faint ache traced through his shoulder — a bruise that hadn’t been there before. He moved to the bathroom, flicked on the light, stared at himself in the mirror. He looked like anyone who had lost too much sleep and too many names. The patch made his eyes narrower somehow; the pupils tracked like a sensor.

And in the distance, someone typed I.S.A.I.D.U.B. into a terminal and hit send — a signature, a claim, or a warning. The letters meant less than the intent behind them: a small group had chosen to mend what others had broken, and in doing so had made an enemy.

“Who patched you?” he demanded.

“Because you were useful,” she replied. “And because you could be dangerous if left unchecked. Patching you keeps the chaos contained. Unpatching without a new plan just makes the world more combustible.”

“Who sent you?” he asked again. Anger flickered, but it was measured. He’d learned to conserve heat.