"A while now." Khalid pours his own cup and adds an alarming amount of sugar. "Dylan brought me here after Syria. I help with research, translation when they need it. Training with the team."
Syria. I remember Colton mentioning something about a Syrian village in the car yesterday. Protocol Seven. Committee operations that killed civilians.
"You're protected here," I say quietly. "That's what matters."
Khalid's expression shifts. Something old and tired in his eyes that shouldn't exist in a fifteen-year-old. "Yeah. That's what matters."
Lucas has returned to playing with Odin, making the dog sit and stay with hand signals Khalid taught him. Just a kid playing with a dog. Nothing about this mountain facility feels ordinary,but Lucas is adapting because kids are resilient in ways adults forget.
"Rachel Donovan," a voice says.
I turn to find a man standing in the corridor entrance. Older than Colton, maybe mid-forties, with the kind of presence that commands attention without demanding it. Dark hair going gray at the temples. Eyes that miss nothing.
"Kane," I say, recognizing him from last night's brief introduction.
"Mind if we talk?" He gestures back toward the corridor. "Won't take long. Just want to check in, make sure you have what you need."
I glance at Lucas, who's completely absorbed in Odin's tricks.
"He's fine with me," Khalid says. "I'll keep him out of trouble."
Following Kane takes us deeper into Echo Base. We pass through the operations area—rooms with banks of computer screens showing surveillance feeds and satellite imagery. A war room with tactical displays and maps covering one entire wall. People working at stations with the focused intensity of professionals who take their jobs seriously.
This isn't just a safe house. This is a fully operational military command center, hidden deep in the mountain where the Committee hasn't found it despite years of searching.
Kane stops at a door marked with a keypad lock. He punches in a code and gestures me inside. "Conference room. More private."
The room is small but functional. Conference table with chairs. Whiteboard covering one wall. Projection screen on another. No windows, but then nothing in this facility has windows. The clock on the wall shows mid-morning—I've been awake less than an hour and it already feels like days.
"How are you holding up?" Kane settles into a chair and indicates I should do the same.
"I'm fine." The lie comes automatically.
"Stryker said you're tough. That you survived over a year in captivity and came out the other side functional." Kane's voice carries no judgment, just statement of fact. "That true?"
"Depends on your definition of functional."
"Can you follow tactical instructions in a crisis situation without freezing up?"
"Yes."
"Can you keep Lucas calm when things go wrong?"
"I've been doing it for five years."
"Then you're functional by my standards." Kane leans back in his chair. "I'm not going to sugar-coat this. The Committee wants your son dead. They're deploying significant resources to make that happen. Kessler's running the operation personally, which means this is high priority."
My hands tighten on the coffee mug. The ceramic feels solid, real, something to anchor to. "Colton told me. In the car yesterday."
"Good. Then you understand why you're here." His eyes stay level on mine. "Echo Base is the most secure location we have. The Committee's been trying to find it for years without success. But that means you can't leave. Can't make phone calls to friends. Can't check in with anyone outside this facility until we've neutralized the immediate threat."
The walls feel closer suddenly. Buried in a mountain. Cut off from everyone except the people in this room. "How long will that take?"
"Honestly? I don't know. Could be weeks. Could be months." Kane pulls a tablet from the table and swipes through several screens. "Depends on how long it takes us to neutralize Kessler and his operational team."
Weeks. Months. Lucas growing up in a military bunker instead of going to school, playing soccer, having friends. "And after?"
"Tommy's building bulletproof new identities for you and Lucas. When this is over, you'll have the option to relocate somewhere the Committee can't trace. New city, new names, clean start."
