"I want to end this." I look around the table, meeting each pair of eyes in turn. "We've been defensive for too long. Reacting to his moves, cleaning up his damage, mourning our losses. It's time to take the fight to him."
"And the coordinators?" Elena's voice is tight with barely controlled fear. "The donors? They're not soldiers. If we use them as bait…"
"We're not using them as bait. We're giving Konstantin what he thinks he wants while positioning ourselves to take him down when he reaches for it."
"Explain," Nadia says.
I stand, move to the map on the wall. The distribution hub is marked in blue, the compound in green, the suspected locations of Konstantin's forces in red.
"The meeting goes forward as planned," I say. "But we change the venue. Move it here, to the compound, under the pretense of additional security given recent attacks."
"That concentrates our vulnerabilities," Julian objects. "If he hits the compound while everyone's here…"
"He won't. Because we're going to leak information suggesting the meeting is still at the distribution hub." I trace a line on the map. "We leave a skeleton force there, enough to sell the illusion. Meanwhile, our main strength is here, protecting the coordinators while a strike team positions near the hub."
"You want him to attack an empty building," Celeste says, understanding dawning.
"I want him to attack a building he thinks is full. When his forces engage, they'll find minimal resistance. They'll call forreinforcement, and Konstantin will come to see his victory firsthand." I tap the map. "That's when we hit him."
"It's risky," Nadia says.
"Everything is risky. But this gives us a chance to end the war instead of just surviving another battle."
"How do we plant false information convincingly?" Marcellus asks.
"We don't plant it. We let it leak naturally." I gesture at the room. "We make a show of fortifying the distribution hub. Increased patrols, visible security. Konstantin's scouts will report what they see. He'll draw his own conclusions."
Silence falls over the room again. I can see them processing, weighing the options, calculating odds. These are people I've worked with for decades, some for centuries. They know me. They trust me.
But trust only goes so far when lives are on the line.
"I'm in," Celeste says.
Everyone looks at her again. Some expressions show surprise. She's new, still proving herself, speaking up in a room full of vampires who've been doing this longer than she's been alive. Others show something closer to respect.
"He's right," she continues. "We can't keep playing defense forever. Konstantin will wear us down eventually. If we have a chance to take him out, we have to take it."
"Easy for you to say," Julian mutters. "You've been here five minutes."
"Which means I'm not tired yet." She holds his gaze steadily, unflinching. "I haven't spent years losing people, watching the network shrink, feeling the noose tighten. I can see this clearly because I'm not exhausted. And what I see is that we're running out of time. If we don't act now, we won't get another chance."
Julian holds her stare for a long moment. Something passesbetween them, not hostility, exactly, but assessment. Testing. Then he nods slowly.
"She's got a point."
"I agree," Nadia says. "It's our best option."
"Ethan?" I ask.
He pushes off from the wall, uncrossing his arms. "I don't love the risk to the coordinators. But I love the alternative less. I'm in."
"Elena?"
She takes a shaky breath. "I trust you. All of you. If you think this is the way, I'll make sure my people are ready."
Marcellus looks at me. "What do you need?"
The next two hours are a blur of planning.
