The air in the room had gone heavier. Tighter.
Ian Chase stood at the head of the table, arms folded across his chest, eyes on the intel map glowing behind him. It showed a string of flare-points along the Sahel corridor, from Niamey to Ouagadougou.
Zach Wentworth sat straight-backed with his legal pad open, pen poised but unmoving.
Ford Cox leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes narrowed. Sean Paulsen leaned back in his chair and rocked gently. Dante Olivetti, in black BDUs and a t-shirt pulled over adrenaline and exhaustion, sat silent beside them, thumb rolling slowly against the inside of his fist.
Ian spoke without preamble. “We’re sending in a ghost team. Tier-zero footprint. No flag. No badge. Just boots on the ground to confirm if our intel holds. It’s not sanctioned yet. It’s a proof recon op. Martin is due at the Pentagon at dawn.”
Zach grunted. “Another deniable war.”
Ford asked the real question: “Who’s going in?”
Ian answered without looking at Dante. “Bravo’s prepping for launch. Forty-eight hours.”
Zach raised an eyebrow. “And Dante?”
Ian finally turned. “He’s not going in.”
Dante tensed.
Ian said, “You’re assigned to a protective detail. Immediate transfer. Starting now.”
Dante’s voice was tight. “You want me to stand down?”
“No, I want you to help her survive what’s coming. She trusts you,” Ian said warmly. “She’s stable enough for evac. We're airlifting her to our surgical facility in New Orleans tonight. Full rehab capability. Top-tier security.”
Dante didn’t argue, but something burned behind his eyes. “She’ll ask to stay in the fight.”
Ian nodded. “Then you remind her she’s the reason we’re still in it.”
After a knock, a clean-cut man in a dark gray suit stepped inside, flanked by two others. All carried Pentagon credentials. All wore the same unreadable expression.
The lead man introduced himself as Deputy Undersecretary Leon Vash. “We’re here for Daniel Krueger.”
Zach stood slowly. “He’s under federal hold. You’re wasting your time.”
“Orders from above,” Vash said smoothly. “We’ve signed the deal.”
Ian’s voice dropped. “This is a deal with the devil.”
“Krueger’s seen deeper layers of this network than we have. He is willing to flip. His father agrees and wants him flipped. We have secured the deal. He’ll become a secured confidential informant. Intelligence asset under DoD control.”
Zach’s pen snapped clean in half.
“You’re cutting a deal with a murderer,” Ian roared.
Vash didn’t blink. “We’re cutting a deal with a lever.”
Ian stepped forward, voice glacial. “You don’t get to make this play without Chase counsel.”
Vash offered a polite, poisonous smile. “Then I suggest your counsel get on board. Because the decision is already made.”
The door shut behind them. Silence fell like an execution.
Ford looked at Ian. “They’re going to let him walk.”
“Every one of you promised her he was gone the first time. Mike promised her it wouldn’t happen to her a second time.” He blew out a harsh breath. “Every one of you broke that promise.” Dante stood. “I’ll go with her now. And somehow, I’ll get her through this.”
