It's not right. But it's the only option that stops Haywood before he kills again.
"Agreed." Calder's pulling up secure communications. "I'll coordinate with DOJ, set up the protection detail. We move her as soon as we have everything in place."
She steps away to make the call, her voice dropping to careful professional tones.
Sela steps beside me, close enough I feel her warmth. "This could work."
"Or it could get Jackie killed."
"She's dead anyway if we don't stop him." Her hand finds mine. "You know that."
I do. Haywood doesn't leave loose ends. Jackie's been living on borrowed time since Emma died. At least this way, she has a chance.
We all do.
Calder finishes her call, turns toward us. "DOJ's coordinating with Rebecca Macintosh. Protection detail, secure location, monitoring equipment. We move Jackie as soon as everything's in place."
"When?"
"A day, maybe two. Less if Haywood keeps escalating." She closes her laptop. "When he makes his move, we need proof he ordered it. Direct evidence for a grand jury."
"How do we get that?"
"We make him desperate enough to break protocol." Calder's smile is cold. "And we make sure we're recording when he does."
She pulls up a tactical map on her tablet, marks coordinates. "DOJ's arranging a safe house outside Anchorage. Secure perimeter, armed agents, full surveillance. We move Jackie there, leak it to the right channels that she's cooperating with the investigation. Haywood hears that, he has to act."
"You're betting he'll come himself," Finn says.
"Or send orders we can intercept." Calder zooms in on the location. "Either way, we'll have eyes and ears on everything. The second he makes contact with his contractors, we've got him."
"And if he doesn't take the bait?" Cara asks.
"Then we've bought Jackie time and protection while we build the historical case." Calder meets each of our gazes. "But he'll take it. He's too smart not to know that a living witness destroys him. He'll move, and he'll move fast."
I walk the perimeter one more time before turning in. Check sensors, test sight lines. Everything's secure. Everything's ready.
Secure doesn't mean safe. Ready doesn't mean certain.
Haywood's out there right now, making his own plans, running his own scenarios, figuring out how to eliminate the threats closing in. When he moves, people will die unless we'refaster, smarter, better prepared than a corrupt federal agent with decades of experience making problems disappear.
Cold air bites through my jacket. I stop at the northeast corner, where the contractors emerged from the trees. Their footprints are still visible in the frozen slush, precise spacing that speaks to military discipline. They weren't here to talk. They were here to assess our defenses, probe for weaknesses.
Next time, they won't announce themselves.
My breath fogs in the darkness. Somewhere out there, Jackie's trying to sleep in whatever safe house Rebecca found for her. Trying to convince herself she's going to survive this. And we're about to make her a target all over again, paint crosshairs on her back and hope we're good enough to keep her alive.
The weight of that settles in my chest, familiar and heavy. How many times did I make these same calculations in Iraq? In Afghanistan? Trading certainty for probability, betting lives on tactics and timing. The math never gets easier, even when you know it's the only math that works.
When I come through the cabin door, Sela's still up, sitting at the table with files spread in front of her.
"You can't sleep?" I ask.
"I kept thinking about Jackie, what we're asking her to do." She looks up. "Using her as bait."
"It's her choice."
"That doesn't make it easier."
