It was the first time I’d seen fog through a window here. Not that there were many windows around. Even Adam and Lina’s room didn’t have a real one, just a screen that displayed the view from one of the city cameras on Earth. And it wasn’t even clear if it was a live feed or a recording. On Verdis, if you wanted greenery, you had to go to the greenhouse.Still, I had come across a few panoramic windows with impressive views: the indoor garden in the medical block, the one at Marco’s, and the very window I was looking through now — the one in Novak’s apartment.Tonight, the view was anything but impressive. The evening fog had swallowed everything like a thick grey smoke. Even the distant building lights couldn’t break through.Changes outside didn’t mean changes inside. Silence. Wood. The scent of apples, citrus, pine, and honey. Each of us had been poured a different tea, so Novak hadn’t used the usual teapot. Instead, we had tall handleless cups with lids.I’d been given Pure Thoughts. That alone was enough to tell me this wasn’t going to be a light conversation. But there were other signs too. For instance, Adam was sitting in ‘my’ chair. Lina had perched beside him, right on the armrest, one arm around his shoulders. Her smile never faded and it was that wicked, playful look of hers I was now hiding from at the window.We still had a few minutes before Novak returned from the room where he kept his treasures, and I didn’t want to waste them talking about my taste in porn.Better for Lina to terrorise Kate instead. She was sitting directly across from her.Novak returned to the lounge with quick, purposeful steps.“Let’s begin,” he said, firmly, and handed out tablets.I grabbed mine quickly and took my seat.“The first phase of surveillance is complete. We’ve got a cadet with a confirmed addiction, and we’ve got the name of a dealer.”Novak looked me in the eye. The look was so sharp, (...)