They look at me.
Like I’m the one who gets to make the call.
Like I’m not currently held together with tape and Lark’s hands.
“Can we outrun this?” I ask. “Realistically.”
Dean is quiet for a moment. Then: “No. Not permanently.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
“But you can pick the terrain,” he adds. “You can decide whether they come at you in a forest we control eyes on, or in a city where any car could be theirs. My recommendation? You stay put for the next forty-eight. Let us see who moves where when the bounty jump hits wider channels. If we’re lucky, the worst of them will get scooped on other jobs or spooked by the chatter.”
“And if we’re not lucky?” I ask.
“Then we adjust,” he says. “Fast.”
Arrow’s gaze softens just a fraction. “We’re not leaving you out there, man,” he says. “You and Lark helped save River. You helped Juno. You helped half the people on our current client list without asking for anything back. We’re in this with you. You’re not soloing the boss level.”
“Great,” I say. “Then let me be honest about how this feels.”
Ozzy lifts his mug. “By all means. Honest Knight is my favorite Knight.”
“This feels like we’re bait,” I say. “Dangling in front of every shark who’s ever wanted to take a bite at Mask and whoever’s stupid enough to stand next to him.”
“Not bait,” Dean says. “But yes, visible. And sometimes visibility is leverage. Luka can’t resist flexing. If he moves too aggressively, we tag more of his people. More operations. More shell companies. He’s pissed enough at you two to make mistakes.”
“He already made one,” Arrow adds. “He tied his Helios identity too close to this run. We’ve got enough now that when we do move? It’ll hurt.”
What he’s leaving unsaid isif you survive long enough for that to matter.
I drag a hand down my face.
There’s movement in the doorway behind the tablet.
I glance back.
Lark stands there in my t-shirt and shorts, hair up in a messy knot, mug cradled in both hands. Her eyes are huge.
She heard enough.
Of course she did.
I mute my mic.
“Eavesdropping?” I ask, trying for light and landing somewhere near strained.
She lifts one shoulder. “Doors in this cabin are made of tissue paper.”
Fair.
I tilt the screen so she can see. “You’re on with Arrow, Dean, and everyone else.”
“Hey, Lark,” Arrow says. “Love what you’ve done with the safe house.”
“Hi, Lark,” Ozzy adds. “Just so you know, we’re strongly against you getting murdered. Official team stance.”
Lark musters a small, crooked smile. “Good to be wanted. In a non-murder way.”
