"Doc can alter my appearance. I go in as catering, plant whatever Finn and Zara need."
"Not alone," Sarah said firmly. "The financial architecture is complex. You'll need someone who can identify which accounts to target."
"Absolutely not."
"I'm the only one who can read these patterns fast enough." She met his eyes. "Finn and Zara need me to identify the accounts before they can redirect them. I have to be there."
The truck fell silent except for the hum of electronics.
"She's right," Finn said reluctantly. "The financial structures are layered. We need her eyes on the actual system."
"Then I go with her," Griff said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Your face is all over the news," Doc pointed out from the driver’s seat.
"Then fix it. Hair dye, contacts, whatever it takes."
"It won't fool facial recognition."
"It doesn't have to. Just has to get us to the basement. Shift change is at 16:45. Maximum chaos, minimum accountability."
Through the comm, Ronan's voice carried weight. "This is suicide."
"This is necessary," Griff countered. "We stop both systems or forty-seven people die. Either tonight or tomorrow when they arrest Buckley."
Sarah was already working. "I'm mapping the financial architecture. Each account has different security protocols. This is going to be like... like defusing forty-seven different bombs simultaneously."
"How long?" Griff asked.
"To identify all the accounts? Ten minutes. Maybe twelve."
"Guard rotation is every eight minutes," Zara reported.
"Then we'll have to be fast."
"Or create one ginormous of a distraction," Izzy suggested.
Doc pulled into a tight alley. "I need thirty minutes to alter your appearance. Sarah will need a disguise too."
"I can change my look too," Sarah said, still focused on her screens. "Straighten my curls, add makeup. You know, the classic 'I'm definitely not the person you're looking for' look."
"Are you suggesting a disguise or auditioning for witness protection?" Doc asked dryly.
"Both involve disappearing, right?" Sarah pulled up another screen. "Plus, I've always wondered how I’d look withstraight hair. Probably like someone attacked me with a flat iron and lost."
"Catering uniforms are great equalizers," Doc noted. "Add a hair net, cap, and keep your head down—you become invisible service staff."
"Invisible is good. Invisible means not dead." Sarah's fingers never stopped moving across the keyboard. "Though I draw the line at a hairnet. I've seen what those do to people. It's not pretty."
"Would you prefer bullets?" Griff asked.
"Fair point. Hairnet it is. I'll pretend I'm in a really dangerous episode of Top Chef." She glanced up briefly. "Do you think they make bulletproof hairnets?"
"Focus," Griff said, but she caught the tiny smile.
"I am focused. I'm multitasking my panic."
"You're talking about walking into the lion's den," Ronan said.
