This really is safer than the cabin?
"Yeah. Finn and Cara built this place to withstand serious threats. Motion sensors, reinforced structure, defensive positions. Anyone comes at us here; we'll see them long before they get close."
She considers this and writes again.
You know how to fight?
It's a direct question. It deserves a direct answer. "Yeah. I was Delta Force. Special ops. Trained to handle exactly the kind of people hunting you."
But you stopped.
"Medical discharge. Came back from deployment damaged. Spent four years in the wilderness trying to figure out how to function again." I meet her eyes. "But the training doesn't go away. The skills are still there when I need them."
She studies my face, looking for the lie, looking for weakness. Whatever she finds must satisfy her because she writes one more thing.
Okay. I believe you.
Then she's gone, back to her room. The door closes with the quiet click of the interior lock engaging.
It's small progress. But it's progress.
I finish organizing gear and head to the main room. Zeke's truck is pulling up outside—he and Rhys arriving for the strategy session. Time to coordinate defensive posture and figure out how to extract what Traci knows without breaking her.
Everyone gathers around the large table in the common area. Zeke looking like the former SEAL team leader he is—controlled, assessing, running tactical calculations. Rhys Blackwater in sheriff's uniform, third-generation law enforcement with the kind of instincts that come from growing up in the job. Finn and Cara positioned together, a united front. Helena listening, professional and focused.
I take a position where I can see all entrances and exits. It's an old habit, but my peripheral vision keeps tracking Helena's movements across the room even when I'm supposed to be focused on Zeke's briefing.
Zeke spreads a map of the region across the table. "Alright. Let's establish what we know and what we need to find out."
"Traci saw the Marshal," Helena says. "Three separate occasions when he came to inspect the trafficking house where they held her. She can provide positive identification."
"Which makes her the network's priority target," Rhys adds. "Gary Kern's been canvassing Glacier Hollow running reconnaissance. Former military contractor, dishonorable discharge, direct ties to Haywood's operations. He's not working alone."
Zeke marks locations on the map. "Kern's been asking questions about Eli and Traci at the café, the general store, the gas station. Methodical pattern. He's building intelligence for an operation."
"What's the federal response?" Cara asks.
"Briggs thinks we're cooperating with transport to the Anchorage safe house." Zeke's expression hardens. "By now he's probably figured out we ghosted him. That's going to create problems."
"Good," I say. "Federal safe houses leak. We trust our own security more than we trust channels the network can infiltrate."
"Agreed." Rhys points to Finn's compound on the map. "This position is defensible. But if they bring serious numbers, we'll need backup."
"How serious are we talking?" Finn asks.
"Professional contractors. Former military. The kind of operators who don't quit until the target's eliminated or they're dead." Rhys pulls out his phone, shows surveillance photos. "This is what they sent after Cara when she was hiding evidence against Haywood. Four-man tactical team, ex-military, well-equipped. They breached a defended position in under ten minutes."
Cara's jaw tightens, as if the memory of that night is still sharp.
"So we prepare for at least four," I say. "Maybe more if they're treating Traci as high-priority elimination."
Zeke nods. "Perimeter defense, overlapping fields of fire, fallback positions if they breach the outer security. Finn, walk us through the compound's defensive capabilities."
Finn gestures to different areas on a hand-drawn schematic of the compound. "Motion sensors at the perimeter, overlapping coverage, no blind spots. Main building has reinforced walls, defensive firing positions from upper windows. Workshop connects to an emergency trail into the forest if we need to evacuate. Solar power with battery backup means we're not dependent on grid infrastructure they could cut."
"Armament?" Zeke asks.
"Two AR-15s, hunting rifles with scopes for long-range engagement, shotguns for close quarters, sufficient ammunition for sustained defense. Cara and I have trained together. We know the positions."
