"It's supposed to make you understand the stakes. We're not the good guys. We're just less evil than the people hunting us. Kane wants you alive because you're useful. I want you alive because I'm trying to prove I'm more than what they made me. Either way, you're safer here than anywhere else."
"That's not exactly reassuring."
"Better than the Committee's lies."
She accepts that. Drains her coffee.
"Kane mentioned a deal. I help build the case, you keep me alive. What does that look like?"
"You work under my supervision. Access whatever databases you need but only with Tommy providing counter-surveillance. No independent communication with anyone outside this location. No attempts to warn your sources or contact authorities. Everything you find gets documented. Chain ofcustody maintained. By the time we're done, we'll have a case so airtight that Webb can't buy his way out."
"And if the Committee finds me before we finish?"
"Then we make sure the evidence survives even if you don't." I pull out an encrypted drive from my tactical jacket. "Everything gets backed up in multiple locations. Secure storage that triggers automatic release if any of us die. Dead man's switch that ensures Webb goes down even if he kills us all."
Reagan takes the drive. Turns it over in her hands. "You've thought this through."
"I've been planning the Committee's downfall since the day I saved Khalid. Morrison's crimes gave us the evidence, but you're the piece that makes it possible to take down Webb and the rest of them legally instead of with a bullet."
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't. You're too stubborn to quit and too smart to think you can survive on your own. The Committee has unlimited resources and professional killers. We have training, tactics, and desperation. Your odds are better with us."
She doesn't argue. Just pockets the encrypted drive.
"When do we start?"
"Now. First lesson: operational security." I pull up a tactical display. "Every communication leaves traces. Every database access creates logs. Even encrypted channels can be monitored if you're not careful. Tommy handles the technical side but you need to understand the basics."
"I know how to cover my digital tracks."
"You know how to avoid amateur surveillance. The Committee isn't amateur." I display her investigation timeline, highlight every digital footprint she left. "Here's where you accessed Morrison's financial records. Here's where you pulled classified files. Here's where you contacted sourcesvia encrypted email. Every single access point is logged and traceable."
Reagan's face pales as she sees the scope of her exposure. "I used VPNs. Encrypted everything."
"VPNs can be compromised. Encryption can be broken. The only truly secure communication is no communication." I close the display. "From now on, you access nothing without Tommy providing layered security. Multiple VPNs, rotating servers, randomized access patterns. Make it look like routine intelligence gathering instead of targeted investigation."
"That will slow everything down."
"Slow and alive beats fast and dead." I pull up the Committee network again. "We have time. The Committee thinks you're hiding. They don't know you're actively building a case. Use that advantage. Let them think you're scared while we systematically dismantle their entire operation."
"You make it sound simple."
"It's methodical." I highlight connection points in the Committee network. "Financial records link Morrison to shell corporations. Shell corporations link to defense contractors. Contractors link to Whitmore and Turner. Follow the money, document the connections, build the chain of evidence one link at a time."
"I've been doing this for six months."
"You've been investigating like a journalist. Now you investigate like a federal prosecutor. Every document needs provenance. Every connection needs corroboration. By the time we're done, Webb's network will be so thoroughly documented that no amount of classified stamps can bury it. We're using Morrison's crimes as the foundation, but the target now is everyone still running Protocol Seven."
Reagan studies the network. Her analytical mind already finding patterns, making connections. "This will take weeks."
"We have time. Maybe longer if Tommy's counter-surveillance holds." I check my phone. "Willa reports Dr. Patterson is stable. Committee teams withdrew from Ironwood Ridge. Local PD bought the gang violence cover story."
"So we're safe. For now."
"We're never safe. But we have time to work." I save the network analysis. "Get some sleep. We start fresh in six hours."
"I won't be able to sleep."
