Chapter 470: Tuesday. Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom.

SILAS PEERED OVER THE top of his phone and the glasses.

No sign of the targets. Yet.

Earlier that morning he'd managed to crawl out of bed without waking Ekko when his phone had gone off. It was news he'd been hoping for.

Someone had identified their DSS operatives.

Igney and Pasley Bootur.

Despite the men sharing the same surname, they weren't related. In fact, it was telling.

Chayan had explained while lecturing about the DSS that children taken in before the age of five were stripped of family surnames and given one of a few state names. The Bootur surname came from the Yakut people, one of many who had contributed to the Daurain population. The name had been selected for two purposes. The first Minister of Public Affairs had roots that went back to the Yakut people, and the name meant protector. Since many of the protective service members were children conscripted from the state-run orphanages, the surname was a brand setting those kids apart. Bootur was also the name given