"Are we there?" His voice comes out small and uncertain.
"Almost." I unbuckle and crouch beside his seat. "We're landing at a small airstrip. Then there's a drive to where we're actually going."
Rachel stirs as the landing gear deploys. Her eyes open slowly, disoriented for a moment before awareness floods back. Sleep to waking to remembering everything that brought us here.
"We're landing," I tell her.
She nods and reaches for Lucas, checking his seatbelt with automatic efficiency. Normal died the moment he witnessed Kessler eliminate that Protocol Seven guard.
The pilot makes the approach smooth, touching down on a runway that barely deserves the name. Cracked asphalt stretches between walls of pine trees, isolated enough that civilian air traffic never ventures near.
We taxi to a small hangar where two black SUVs wait with engines running.
The jet door opens and stairs extend. I unbuckle and move to help Rachel with Lucas, but she's already got him. Mercer's at the door first, scanning the area before descending.
We load into the second SUV. Rachel settles Lucas into the child safety seat and then climbs into the passenger seat. Lucas presses his face against the window.
I follow Mercer onto a dirt road that winds deeper into the mountains. Pavement disappears within the first mile. Trees press close on both sides, branches forming a canopy that blocks most of the afternoon sun.
I drive automatically, following the route burned into my memory from dozens of previous trips. Left at the lightning-struck pine. Right where the creek crosses under a wooden bridge that looks like it should have collapsed years ago but holds firm because Tommy reinforced it with steel supports hidden inside rotting wood.
Rachel watches everything with careful attention. Memorizing. Cataloging. Building a mental map because that's what you do when you've survived over a year held captive.
Glances at her come between checking the road. She's changed since I walked away. Harder, leaner, carrying herself with the controlled tension of someone who's learned that relaxing gets you hurt.
If I hadn't left, she never would have gone to Mexico. Never would have met Mateo. Never would have spent over a year trapped in that compound. And Lucas?—
I force myself to stop before that line of thinking goes somewhere I can't come back from. But the truth sits heavy in my chest anyway. Lucas could have been mine. Should have been mine. If I'd stayed. If I'd chosen her instead of walking away because I was too scared to admit I wanted her more than the mission.
Hawthorne got her out of that compound. He did the job I should have been doing. But by then it was too late. Rachel had survived hell, and Lucas existed because of that hell, and I have no right to imagine a different past where she was mine and safe and we built something together.
Lucas falls asleep about an hour into the drive. Rachel watches him in the rearview mirror before turning her attention back to the road.
"How much longer?" Her voice stays quiet.
"Another hour, maybe a bit more. Terrain gets worse the closer we get." I navigate around a boulder that's been sitting in the middle of the path since last spring. "Kane picked this location specifically because it's nearly impossible to reach. Makes approach that much harder for anyone who doesn't know the route."
Silence settles between us. Not comfortable, but not hostile either.
"Thank you." Rachel breaks the quiet after several miles. "For coming to Tucson. For protecting us."
"You don't need to thank me."
"Yes, I do. You could have stayed gone. Could have let someone else handle this." She looks at me directly. "Why did you come?"
Because Kane assigned the mission. Because you and Lucas needed protection. Because walking away from you was the biggest mistake I ever made and some part of me has been looking for a reason to come back ever since.
"Kane sent me," I say instead. The lie tastes wrong but it's easier than the truth. "The Committee killed people we cared about. Burned operators who got too close to their operations. They're systematic about eliminating threats, and Lucas witnessed one of their cleanup operations. That makes him a target they won't stop hunting until he's dead or they are."
Rachel's silent for a moment. "So this is personal for your team."
"Yeah. Morrison led the Committee before Webb took over. We exposed Morrison's war crimes, but he died before we could get him prosecuted. But the organization survived. Webb's consolidating power, making examples of anyone who threatens their operations." I navigate around a fallen tree branch. "Protecting Lucas means we get leverage against Kessler, which means we can hurt Webb's operational capacity. Every witness we keep alive is another crack in their foundation."
"So I'm useful."
"You're a mother protecting her son. That you're also useful in our war against the Committee is how things work." I glance at her. "But I would have come even if you weren't. Even if Lucas hadn't witnessed anything. Kane knows that."
Rachel's mouth tightens. She knows I'm not telling her everything but she doesn't push. Just turns her attention back to the window and watches the forest slide past in silence.
