Rain hit the lab windows like a drum. It was loud enough to cut through the quiet Jason and Leah had lived in for months; the kind of quiet that had nothing to do with sleep and everything to do with distance.

Leah stayed bent over her laptop, the glow showing the tired lines on her face. The code on the screen moved in slow, steady waves. Ethan sat across from her, his fingers hovering over his own keyboard, watching. Outside, the storm made the whole city sound small.

Ethan: (soft) “We nailed it. That loop you added cleaned the noise right out.”

Leah: (without looking up) “Good. Run the...