Echo Base. I'm in Echo Base.
Memory floods back. The safe house. The firefight. The jet. Colton showing me and Lucas to these quarters before disappearing to debrief with Kane. Lying down on top of the covers because pulling them back felt too permanent, too much like accepting this is real.
The digital clock on the small nightstand glows with numbers that could mean anything this far inside the mountain. My phone shows no signal. No way to know if that's local time or some arbitrary setting someone programmed years ago.
Lucas's door stands open. Panic flares hot and immediate before logic catches up. Nobody breached the facility. Lucas woke up before I did, that's all.
Same clothes I've been wearing since yesterday. Same exhaustion sitting heavy in my bones despite however manyhours of sleep I managed. Same fear churning in my gut that no amount of rest will fix.
Voices drift from somewhere down the hall. Young voices. Lucas laughing at something, the sound so carefree it makes my chest ache.
Moving to the door, I peer out. Empty hallway stretches in both directions, lit by overhead fixtures that cast everything in harsh white light. No windows. No natural light penetrating this deep. Just steel-reinforced walls and doors marked with numbers that don't follow any logical pattern.
The voices lead me through passages I don't remember from last night. Past rooms with closed doors and open ones revealing bunk beds and footlockers. Living quarters for Colton's team. People who operate out of this facility full-time, who've made a military compound their home.
The corridor opens into a large communal area. Kitchen along one wall with industrial appliances and a long counter. Tables and chairs scattered throughout. Comfortable seating arranged near what looks like a projection screen. Bookshelves line another wall, packed with everything from tactical manuals to paperback thrillers.
Lucas sits at one of the tables with a teenage boy and a massive dog. The boy is maybe fifteen, dark hair and serious eyes, watching Lucas with careful attention that speaks of someone who understands how fragile kids can be. The dog is some kind of shepherd mix, easily the size of a small pony, lying on the floor with its head resting on Lucas's foot.
"And then Odin tracked the scent for miles," the boy is saying. "Through the forest, across a creek, all the way to where Dylan had hidden the training dummy. He's the best tracker on the team."
Lucas's eyes are huge with wonder. "Can he track anything?"
"Pretty much. Dylan says a good dog is better than any technology for some jobs." The boy scratches behind Odin's ears. "You want to see him do tricks?"
"Yes!" Lucas bounces in his seat, Ghost forgotten on the table beside him.
I clear my throat. Both of them look up.
"Mom!" Lucas jumps up and runs to me. "This is Khalid. And this is Odin. He's a tracker dog and he knows, like, a million commands and he can find people in the forest and everything."
"Sounds impressive." I ruffle his hair and look at Khalid. "Thank you for keeping him entertained."
Khalid stands with the kind of posture that suggests military training despite his age. "He's a good kid. He's been asking smart questions about how the facility works—the ventilation, why all the corridors look the same, whether we have emergency escape plans." Khalid's mouth quirks slightly. "He's observant. Like someone taught him to pay attention to his surroundings."
Because I did. Because surviving Mateo's compound left me with the need to teach Lucas these things as he grew up - to notice details, to memorize layouts, to always know where the exits are. Skills no six-year-old should need but that kept us alive when it mattered.
"Mr. Khalid says Dylan is coming back soon." Lucas looks up at me. "And that Aunt Jen and everyone are safe."
Relief hits so hard my knees go weak. "Dylan's on the way back?"
"Called in earlier." Khalid gestures toward a corridor branching off to the right. "He's still in Phoenix, but he checked in with Kane. Your sister and her family are relocated with protection contractors. He'll be back here soon, once he's confident the handoff is solid."
Soon. My sister is out of immediate danger while strangers with guns keep watch over her family because my son witnesseda murder. Because the Committee wants to eliminate anyone who might help us.
Breath comes shallow. Four counts in. Hold. Four counts out.
"Can I show Mom what we've been doing?" Lucas tugs on my hand. "Khalid was teaching me about Odin's hand signals."
"Maybe later, baby. I should probably check in with Kane. Let him know I'm awake."
"Kane's in operations with Mercer and Sarah." Khalid moves to the counter and pulls down two mugs. "Coffee?"
"God, yes."
He pours from a carafe that looks like it's been sitting there for a while, but I don't care. Caffeine is caffeine. "Milk and sugar are on the counter. Tommy usually makes a fresh pot mid-morning, so if you want to wait for something that doesn't taste like motor oil..."
"This is perfect." I take the mug and wrap both hands around it, letting the warmth seep into my palms. "How long have you been here? At Echo Base?"
