"How?" Richard's voice is sharp. "Guardian Peak's location is classified. We were careful."
"Someone inside her company," Sully says. "I've been tracking data breaches for the past month. There's a mole. Someone with access to her travel schedule, her security arrangements, everything."
I think about Mara's laptop, open on her kitchen counter. The way she works constantly, connected to her team in San Francisco. The vulnerability that creates.
"Can you identify them?"
"Working on it. But it's going to take time we might not have."
Richard leans closer to the camera, and I see the fear beneath his composure. This is a man who served two tours in the most dangerous regions on earth, and right now he looks terrified.
"Boone." His eyes find mine through the screen. "I need to know she's safe. I need to know you have this handled."
"I have it handled."
"Do you?" There's a weight to the question. "Because I know my daughter. She's brilliant and stubborn and she doesn't make anything easy. If she's fighting you on protocols, if she's making your job harder..."
"She's not." The lie comes easily. Too easily. "She's cooperating. Following instructions. The training is going well."
Deck's eyes cut to me. He knows. He always knows.
"Richard." Deck steps forward, drawing attention away from me. "Guardian Peak is the most secure location in the state. We've got round the clock patrols, reinforced structures, and thebest operators in the business. Whoever's coming for Mara is going to hit a wall they can't get through."
Richard nods, but the tension doesn't leave his shoulders. "I should be there. I should have come with her."
"You being here would have tipped off whoever's watching." I keep my voice steady. Professional. "Mara thinks she's at a training retreat. That cover is her best protection right now. If they think she doesn't know about the threat, they might get sloppy. Give us an opening."
"And when they come?"
"We'll be ready."
The briefing continues for another twenty minutes. Sully outlines his plan for tracking the mole. Deck assigns additional patrols, pulling Hayes and Ryder from other duties to strengthen the perimeter. Mace will coordinate with Sheriff Tom Parker in Whisper Vale, establishing a backup extraction route if we need to move Mara quickly.
Through all of it, I feel Richard's eyes on me.
When the briefing ends and the others filter out, he stops me.
"Boone. A minute."
I turn back to the screen. Mace pauses at the door, raising an eyebrow, but I wave him off. This is between me and Richard.
"What do you need?"
Richard is quiet for a long moment. Then he sighs, running a hand over his face. "I know I'm asking a lot. Keeping Mara safe isn't just about the threat. It's about keeping her from self destructing in the process."
"She's not self destructing."
"She works too hard. Sleeps too little. Thinks she can solve every problem herself." His voice softens. "She gets that from me. The stubbornness. The inability to let anyone else carry the weight."
I think about Mara on the training mat, determined to learn how to defend herself. Mara at dinner, charming my entire team with her quick wit. Mara pressed against that beam, her fingers curled in my shirt, kissing me like the world was ending.
"She's stronger than you give her credit for."
"I know she is. That's what terrifies me." Richard meets my eyes through the screen. "You're a good man, Boone. One of the best I know. That's why I asked for you specifically. Not just because you're the best tactical planner Guardian Peak has. Because I trust you with what matters most to me."
The guilt is a physical weight in my chest.
"I won't let anything happen to her."
