Ghost stared at the drive, then at Carver. Every instinct told him this could still be a play. "And Bear's ambush?"
Carver's face changed. Pain there, and regret, the kind that didn't look performed.
"I found out about it six hours before execution," he said, his voice tight. "Not enough time to stop it through proper channels without blowing my cover. All I could do was volunteer for the rescue op and get us there before they finished the job."
Ghost understood the calculation. The cold math of choosing between saving one man immediately or staying embedded to save more later.
"You could be lying," Ghost said, his voice low and controlled. "This could all be bullshit."
He held out his hand. "The drive."
Carver handed it over without hesitation.
Echo took it immediately, plugging it into his laptop.
Ghost kept his eyes on Carver. "You understand if any of this is fabricated, you don't leave this house alive."
Carver met his stare without flinching. "What's it gonna take to prove I'm on your side?"
"You willing to put yourself on the line?"
"Whatever it takes."
Ghost gave a single nod, his mind already moving to tactical planning. "Then we use your access. You set a meet with Langley. Tell him you can make Rachel talk. We track you in, find her, and get her out."
Carver didn't hesitate. "Fine. Set me up."
From the corner, Echo's voice cut through the tension. "Before we go deeper, I've got something."
Every head turned as Echo angled his laptop toward the center of the room. The screen showed a grainy traffic cam image, black van, no plates, heading east.
"Tracked the van to an industrial site," Echo said. "Ten miles outside San Diego."
Ghost stepped closer. The timestamp showed forty-seven minutes ago.
Carver leaned in, his focus sharpening. "I know that place."
Ghost's voice came out sharp. "Talk."
"Abandoned warehouse," Carver said, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Langley uses it for off-book operations. No cameras. No paper trail." His voice dropped lower. "If they've got her there, they're either getting ready to move her or end it before she becomes a bigger problem."
Ghost's hands curled into fists.End it.The words conjured images he couldn't afford to entertain. Rachel bleeding. Rachel broken. Rachel,
"We're not giving them the chance," he said, his voice deadly calm.
Carver nodded. "I'll call Langley. Tell him I can handle interrogations. That I've broken prisoners before." He met Ghost's eyes. "If they think I can get intel out of her, they'll hold off on killing her. Buy us time."
"And if it doesn't?" Ghost's voice was cold.
Carver didn't flinch. "Then I hope you're ready to shoot your way in."
"Always."
Carver pulled out his phone and dialed.
The team went still. Ghost listened to the ringing. Once. Twice.
Then a voice came through, flat and cold. "Yeah?"
