I look at Reagan's hand in mine. At Khalid watching us from his corner. At Kane already calculating evacuation routes on his tablet.
We're running out of places to hide.
9
REAGAN
The conference room feels smaller than it did yesterday. Everyone's crowded around the table instead of spread throughout the safe house. The map on the wall shows red markers creeping closer to our location with each update from Tommy. Or maybe it just feels smaller because we're out of time and nobody wants to say it out loud.
Kane stands at the head of the table, arms crossed. Stryker leans against the wall to his right. Dylan sits beside me, close enough that our shoulders touch. Khalid occupies his usual corner with that book he carries everywhere, but his attention is fully on the room.
"Tommy's latest analysis puts the Committee's search pattern within striking distance," Kane says. "They've eliminated sixty percent of possible locations. At current pace, they'll have this facility identified soon. We need to decide. Run or fight."
"Run," Stryker says immediately. "We've got fallback positions. Secure Reagan somewhere separate from the team. Safe house in Canada, maybe. Somewhere the Committee won't connect to Echo Ridge operations."
"That puts her alone," Dylan says. "No protection if they find her."
"Echo Base accommodates our team," Kane says. "Adding Reagan means another person who knows the location. Another vulnerability if she's captured."
"I'm sitting right here," I point out.
Kane doesn't apologize. "It's operational reality. The more people who know Echo Base's coordinates, the higher the risk of compromise. We built that facility to be our last stand. Bringing civilians in defeats the purpose."
"She's not a civilian anymore," Dylan says. His voice stays level but I feel tension coil through his shoulders. "She's been targeted by the Committee. She's working with Delaney to build a federal case. She's part of this operation whether we planned for it or not."
"Being targeted doesn't make her operational," Stryker argues. "No offense, Reagan, but you're an investigative journalist. Not a soldier. Taking you to Echo Base puts everyone at risk if the Committee catches you."
"Then don't take me to Echo Base." The words come out sharper than intended. "Keep running your operation. I'll disappear. Find somewhere the Committee won't look. Stay off grid until this is over."
"They'll find you," Kane says flatly. "They've got unlimited resources and you've got a digital footprint six months wide. You go off grid, they'll track every contact, every credit card transaction, every security camera between here and wherever you think is safe. Give them a week and they'll have you in a black site extracting Echo Base's location."
"I don't know Echo Base's location."
"They don't know that. They'll assume we told you. They'll use every interrogation technique Dylan spent eight years perfecting until you give them something. Even if it's wrong."Kane pulls up a new display. "So running separately isn't an option. Running together means compromising our primary facility. Which leaves fighting."
"Fighting how?" I ask.
"They've got professional kill teams. We've got a journalist and a handful of burned operators. The math doesn't work."
"The math never works when we're involved," Stryker says. "Hasn't stopped us yet."
"This is different," Dylan argues. "Webb runs the Committee now that Morrison's dead. He's got the same resources Morrison had, plus what he's built since taking over.”
“You can't fight that with small arms and hope," I say.
Dylan shifts beside me. "We don't fight them with weapons. We fight them with information."
The room goes quiet. Kane's attention sharpens. Stryker pushes off the wall, moves closer to the table.
"Explain," Kane says.
"Reagan's investigation is the only leverage we have." Dylan pulls up files on the display—documents I compiled over six months of research. "Morrison's war crimes. Financial corruption spanning two decades. Protocol Seven's chemical weapons program. Connections to generals, senators, defense contractors. All documented. All verified. All devastating if it goes public."
"We've discussed public exposure before," Kane says. "The Committee has enough influence to bury stories. They've done it before."
"Not if we structure it correctly." Dylan looks at me. "You're an investigative journalist. You know how to build a story that can't be buried. How to get it to the right people so it spreads faster than the Committee can contain it."
My mind races through possibilities. "You do what you’ve done before using multiple outlets simultaneously. Majorpapers, broadcast networks, international press. Coordinate the release so they all publish at once. Too many sources to silence them all."
