Brian didn't remember the drive back to the station.
He only remembered the moving dot on his screen.
Heading straight toward the lake.
Heading toward that cabin.
He burst into the Captain's office without knocking.
"They're both there," he said.
Captain Reynolds looked up sharply.
"Explain."
"Jack took Molly."
Silence.
Chief Halbrook stepped in from the adjoining office, face hardening instantly.
"You're sure?"
"I tracked her phone. It's moving toward the cabin."
The Captain stood slowly.
"How long?"
"Minutes."
The room shifted from disbelief to command mode instantly.
"Lock the station down," the Chief ordered. "No radio chatter about Davis. This stays internal."
Brian was already moving.
"We need boats. Multiple. Quiet approach."
"Helicopter?" the Captain asked.
"Not yet," Brian said immediately. "If he hears rotors, he'll panic."
"And if he panics—"
"He kills them."
Silence.
The weight of that settled heavily.
The Chief grabbed the phone.
"Activate tactical response. Discreet deployment. No sirens."
Brian stepped closer to the map pinned on the wall.
"We position units around the perimeter of the lake first. No visible movement toward the dock."
"Snipers?" the Captain asked.
"If we have line of sight."
"And if we don't?"
Brian didn't answer.
Because if they didn't—
They were blind.
The tactical team assembled fast.
Unmarked vehicles.
Plain clothes.
Boat units staged out of view.
Brian stood over the lake map again.
"He'll expect a direct approach," he said. "We don't give him that."
The Chief nodded.
"You make contact?"
"Yes."
Brian pulled out his phone.
He dialed Jack's number.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then—
"Dawson."
Jack's voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Where are you?" Brian asked evenly.
A pause.
"Fishing."
Brian swallowed his anger.
"Let Molly go."
Silence.
Then a soft exhale.
"So you did follow me."
There it was.
The shift.
"She followed you," Brian corrected.
"Ah," Jack said quietly. "That explains the feeling."
"Jack—"
"Don't."
His tone changed.
Sharp.
"You bring anyone near this lake, and I kill them."
Brian closed his eyes briefly.
"Both of them?"
"Yes."
The word landed like a blade.
"I don't want this to end badly," Brian said carefully.
"It already has."
"You don't have to do this."
Jack laughed softly.
"You were getting close."
Silence.
"You asked about fishing."
"You offered."
"And then she shows up at my dock."
Brian kept his breathing steady.
"She was grieving."
"She was recording."
That froze him.
Jack continued.
"I found her phone open. Video running."
Brian's stomach turned cold.
"You underestimate me."
"Jack—"
"If I see one boat. One helicopter. One uniform."
He paused deliberately.
"They die."
The line went dead.
The room was silent.
The Captain stared at Brian.
"He knows."
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Enough."
The Chief stepped forward.
"Okay. We slow this down."
Brian shook his head slightly.
"He's unstable."
"He's controlled," the Chief corrected. "Which is worse?"
The tactical commander stepped in.
"We can insert divers under the tree line—"
"No," Brian cut in. "He'll hear it."
"Thermal from air?" another officer suggested.
"High altitude," the Captain said. "Quiet."
"Only if cloud cover holds," the pilot added.
Brian paced once.
"He wants control. That's what this is about."
"Then we give him the illusion of it," the Chief said.
Everyone looked at him.
"You keep talking to him," the Chief continued. "Keep him focused on you."
"And meanwhile?" Brian asked.
"We move invisible."
The Captain pointed to the far shoreline.
"There's elevation here."
"Ridge line," tactical confirmed.
"Sniper positions there. Hidden."
"No direct boat movement," Brian added. "Not yet."
"What about nightfall?" someone asked.
Brian looked at the clock.
Two hours until dark.
"Night favors him," he said quietly.
"And daylight favors us?" the Captain asked.
"No," Brian answered.
"Nothing favors us."
At the cabin, Jack paced.
Molly sat on the floor beside Sarah now, both of them restrained.
Sarah's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Molly whispered.
Sarah shook her head faintly.
Jack stopped pacing and looked at them.
"You should have stayed away."
Molly glared at him despite the fear crawling through her.
"You're not as smart as you think."
His head tilted.
"And you are?"
Sarah felt the tension building in him like a storm.
"You feel it too, don't you?" Jack murmured. "The net tightening."
He walked to the window.
Looked out across the lake.
"Let them come," he whispered.
But his hands were shaking slightly.
Back at the station, Brian stared at the phone.
He dialed again.
Jack answered.
"You're still alive," Jack said softly.
"Let me talk to them."
A pause.
Footsteps.
Then Molly's voice.
"Brian—"
"I'm here."
"They know," she said quickly. "He found the video."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
Sarah's voice came faintly behind her.
"We're together."
The relief almost broke him.
"Listen carefully," Brian said. "We are not rushing in."
"Good," Jack cut in suddenly, back on the line. "Because if you do—"
"I know," Brian interrupted. "No boats. No helicopters."
Silence.
"You're smarter than I thought," Jack said.
"I'm trying to keep everyone alive."
"Then tell them to back off."
Brian glanced at the Chief.
"Everyone is backing off," he said.
The lie was measured.
Strategic.
Necessary.
Jack was quiet.
Thinking.
"If I see movement," he said finally, "they die first."
The line went dead again.
The room felt smaller now.
The Chief stepped close to Brian.
"This stretches," he said quietly.
"Yes."
"We're not storming that cabin."
"No."
"We isolate him. Exhaust him."
Brian nodded slowly.
"He's already cracking."
"Good," the Chief said.
"Or bad," Brian replied.
Outside, the sun dipped lower.
Shadows lengthened across the lake.
Snipers moved into position silently along the ridge line.
Helicopter remained grounded—for now.
Boats staged in darkness, engines cold.
Brian stood at the command table.
Eyes on the map.
Phone in hand.
Waiting.
The standoff had begun.
And it would not end quickly.