1111customs 24 — 05 20 Cory Chase Cory Takes Over...

Marcus felt a cold trickle of dread. He’d been breathing the port’s air for three hours.

The first report came from the drone operators in the Central Hub. “Chase is… smiling,” one had noted. “She never smiles.” 1111Customs 24 05 20 Cory Chase Cory Takes Over...

Marcus stopped a few feet away. “Cory. We need to talk about the overrides.” Marcus felt a cold trickle of dread

“Drift” was the term for when a customs officer at the massive, city-sized Port of Seven Bridges began acting… differently. A little too efficient. A little too cheerful. A little too uniform . “Chase is… smiling,” one had noted

That’s when the data anomalies began. Under Cory’s new regime, the port’s “efficiency” rating shot up by 400%. Contraband finds increased by 800%. But so did the number of legal goods being seized on technicalities—a missing comma in a bill of lading, a shade of ink slightly off from the regulation blue. Shipments destined for hospitals, schools, and orphanages were piling up in the detention vaults.