“What does it reference?” Dom was already leaning forward, already seeing the possibility.
“The Black Archive.” Adrian's voice was quiet. “An off-book evidence facility. If Lily's original evidence exists anywhere, it's there.”
My pulse kicked up. “That's suicide. The Black Archive is locked down, protected by security we can't breach without triggering every alarm in London.”
“Normally, yes.” Adrian pulled up something on his tablet and showed us blueprints, floor plans, and security protocols. “But Dmitri's been working through the data from Eden. One of the phones we acquired belonged to the security coordinator for several Crown facilities, including the Black Archive.”
“You're saying we have access?” Dom's voice was carefully controlled.
“I'm saying we have a window. A small one. Twelve hours. The security coordinator is being replaced tomorrow, and new protocols go into effect at that point, but tonight, for exactly twelve hours, there's a transition period where the old codes still work and the new surveillance hasn't been installed.” Adrian looked between us. “It's the only chance you'll get.”
“What's the catch?” I asked, because there was always a catch.
“The catch is that if you're caught, Ravenswood can't protect you. This operation is off-book, unsanctioned. If it goes wrong, you're on your own.”
“And if it goes right?” Dom asked.
“Then you get the proof you need to destroy Harrow, to expose the entire network, to get justice for your sister and Cal's partner.” Adrian's gaze sharpened. “But understand: once you have that proof, you can't sit on it. You can't wait for perfect timing. You burn it all down immediately, or Harrow will find ways to neutralise it.”
“Agreed,” I said.
Dom nodded. “When do we move?”
“Tonight.” Adrian gestured to Noah. “Your team is Dmitri on tech support, Troy for muscle, Dom as controlled force, and Cal as navigation and strategy. Four people, no more. Any larger and you trigger attention.”
“What about backup?” Dom asked.
“You are the backup. If this fails, we lose our best shot at Harrow and potentially expose Ravenswood's involvement in everything you've been doing.” Adrian stood. “So don't fail.”
We spent the afternoon preparing.
Dmitri walked me through the security systems, showed me the patrol patterns, the timing windows, the twelve-second delay between camera sweeps that would be our entry point.
“The Archive is old,” Dmitri said. “Built in the seventies when physical security meant locks and guards. They've updated some things—digital access, motion sensors—but the core infrastructure is analogue. That's your advantage.”
“And disadvantage,” I added. “Analogue systems don't leave digital trails to hack. They require physical presence.”
“Correct. Which is why you need Troy.” Dmitri pulled up another screen. “Cameras here, here, and here. Guards stationed at these positions. Your window is narrow—ninety seconds fromentry to reaching the archive floor. After that, the patrols change and your route gets compromised.”
Troy arrived with the equipment. “Non-lethal where possible,” he said, laying out gear on the table. “Lethal when necessary.”
Tasers, flash grenades, lockpicks, cutting tools, handguns, knives. Everything we'd need for a breach that could go surgical or messy depending on what we walked into.
Dom checked the weapons with methodical care. “Rules of engagement?”
“We don't start shooting,” I said. “But if they give us no choice, we finish it.”
“Works for me.” Dom loaded a magazine and chambered a round. “Preference is a clean exit, but if it's them or us, it's them.”
Troy grinned. “Finally. I was worried you'd gone soft.”
“Never that soft.” I picked up a handgun and checked the weight of it. “We're not going in looking for a fight. But we're not running from one either.”
“Good.” Troy pocketed a knife. “Because Harrow's people won't hesitate. Neither should we.”
Dom met my eyes. “You good with this?”
“Yeah. You?”
