No one spoke in the command center.
The five of them stood around the holographic table. Himari, Haruto, Akane, Sakura, Kaito. Riku stood apart, near the door.
"He's a spymaster," Himari said. Her voice was tight. "He has a network. Agents in the Duke's court. He knows things."
"He's also a liability," Akane countered. Her tone was flat. "A known dissident. The Duke will tear the city apart looking for him. His presence here compromises our security."
"So we just throw him back?" Kaito shifted his weight, the soles of his boots scraping against the stone floor. "After what we did to get him out?"
"The mission was to acquire the asset and his intelligence. Not to provide long-term sanctuary," Sakura stated.
Haruto hadn't said a word. He stared at the holographic map of Silverwood. A glittering web of enemy patrols and surveillance zones. He felt disconnected. His right knee ached from where he'd hit it on the console during the extraction.
"We need his intel," Akane conceded. "But once we have it, his utility decreases."
"He is not a tool," Himari said, her voice rising. "He is a man. My father's friend."
"Your father is dead," Sakura said. Not cruel. Just a fact.
Himari flinched.
Haruto finally spoke. "Enough."
The word cut through the room. He looked up from the map. His eyes were bloodshot.
"He stays," Haruto said. "We protect him. We use his intel. We break the Duke's hold on this city." He pointed a finger at the map, at the heavily fortified structure of the Duke's palace. "Then we cut off the head."
A console behind him chose that moment to emit a loud burst of static. The sound made Kaito jump.
"That's suicide," Riku said from the doorway. His first words.
"No," Haruto said. "It's the only move we have left."