“Yes.”
He nods once.
“Then we follow them.”
I shake my head.
“Not all of us.”
That gets his attention.
“Explain.”
I step closer to the center of the group, gesturing slightly to the surrounding area.
“If you move the entire force through here, you slow down,” I say. “Too many bodies, too much noise, and you risk missing them entirely if they’ve already split.”
“And your solution?” he asks.
“Small group,” I say. “Fast. Quiet.”
“And the rest?”
I glance back toward the fields.
“They secure what’s left,” I reply. “Set up supply recovery, check structures, make sure nothing here turns into a problem later.”
One of the officers shifts.
“That divides the force.”
“Yes,” I say.
“That’s risky.”
“So is doing nothing,” I reply, meeting his gaze.
He hesitates.
Then looks to Verr.
Of course he does.
I don’t look at Verr.
I don’t need to.
Because if he’s going to trust me?—
This is where it starts.
There’s a pause, long enough that I can feel the weight of it settling over the group, pressing in from all sides.
Then—
“Do it,” Verr says.
Simple.
