72 HOURS REMAINING - MIDNIGHT - KASSANDRA'S OFFICE
"I need your help."
Kassandra looked up from her desk. Midnight. ALONE. Surrounded by intelligence reports.
"With?" she asked carefully.
"A rescue mission. OFF THE BOOKS. No council approval. No questions." I closed the door behind me. "And I need it in seventy-two hours."
She set down her pen. "Sit."
I sat.
"Talk," she said.
This was the moment. The LIE I had to sell. The performance that would either save Ezra or destroy EVERYTHING.
"Ezra's been captured," I said. "By the people collecting seeds. The unknown organization."
Kassandra's expression HARDENED. "How do you KNOW?"
"They sent a message. Demanding a TRADE. Ezra for one of our secured seeds." I pulled out the letter. Let her READ it.
She studied it. ANALYZING. Every word. Every DETAIL.
