The safe house was a pressure cooker of tension and terrible ideas.
The holographic blueprint of Conduit Zero floated in the center of the room, a silent, three-dimensional dare.
Chloe stood at the head of the table, her posture as rigid and unyielding as a steel beam.
She was in her element.
"The infiltration parameters are clear," she began, her voice crisp and clinical, leaving no room for argument or common sense.
"Our entry point will be this maintenance conduit in the sub-basement."
She highlighted a thin, unassuming line on the blueprint.
"Phase one will be a complete stealth insertion."
"The plan is surgical. Silent. In and out before they even know we were there."
It was a beautiful plan.
It was a work of art.
Jax, who had been leaning against a workbench and juggling a small, deactivated EMP grenade, let out a cheerful, booming laugh that made Chloe flinch.
