The room fell silent except for the soft clicking of Specs' keyboard and the distant hum of the building's air conditioning.
The tension was thick enough to choke on. "Colonel," Lark said finally. "I need you to be straight with me. What really happened to my team?"
Lorre leaned back in his chair, studying her with cold calculation. "Your team walked into an ambush because someone betrayed the mission. The question is whether that someone was one of your people, or someone higher up the chain."
"Someone like you?" Lark asked.
"Careful, Strattan," Lorre said, his voice dropping register. "That sounds dangerously close to insubordination."
"It sounds like someone asking questions that need answers," Lark shot back. "My people are dead. I want to know why."
"Your people aren’t dead, and they weren’t your people to begin with,” came a voice from behind them.
Lark spun around, her blood turning to ice.
Wes Lantham stood in the doorway, very much alive, flanked by a figure that made her heart stop completely.
Mina Bakari stepped into the office beside him, her weapon drawn and pointed directly at Lark's chest.
"Miss us?" Wes asked, that familiar smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. But there was something different about him now—something cold and calculating that hadn't been there before. This wasn’t the same man who used to love playing pranks on everyone. Or taking the team's money during poker games.
"We thought you died," Specs whispered.
"That was the point," Wes admitted. "But as you can see, reports of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated."
Lark stared at two of the people she'd considered family, searching for some sign of the teammates she'd known. "How long?"
"How long what?" Mina asked, her voice carrying that familiar accent but none of the warmth Lark remembered.
"How long have you been working against us?" Lark asked.
Wes and Mina exchanged a look. Then Wes shrugged. "Define 'against.' Because from where I'm standing, we're on the right side of this thing."
"The right side?" Lark's voice was barely controlled. "You betrayed your team. Your country."
"We served our country," Mina said simply. "Just not the way you think."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Specs asked.
Lorre stood slowly, moving around his desk to join the others. "It means there are larger forces at work here, Strattan. Operations that go far beyond your clearance level."
"Operations that required people like Alverez to die?”
“We both know he’s not dead.” Lorre arched a brow. “I just can’t find him, but that little tech genius of yours is going to help me.”
“Over my dead body,” Specs muttered.
“That will be arranged… eventually.” Lorre smiled.
“You see, operations like this one require certain sacrifices to be made," Wes said. "Collateral damage in a much larger game."
Specs' fingers had stopped moving on her keyboard. She held Lark’s gaze.
It was done. Communication link established. Kawan and everyone else should be able to hear everything.
“You’re just going to kill us to cover up the truth?” Specs asked.
Wes laughed, the sound harsh and bitter. "Truth? Lady, you wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on the ass."
