Chapter 8 #2
"And if I don't want to relocate?" The question comes out sharper than I intend.
"Then you stay here. Or nearby, with protection protocols in place.
" Kane sets down the tablet. "But Rachel, you need to understand what you'd be choosing.
Living under constant security. Lucas growing up knowing he's a target.
Never being completely out of danger because the Committee has long memories and longer reach. "
"I survived Mateo. I can survive this."
"Mateo's dead. The Committee isn't." Kane's voice stays level but firm. "I'm not trying to scare you. Just want you to understand the reality of what we're dealing with."
The reality. Lucas in hiding for months. Maybe years. Growing up in a bunker or under armed guard. Never having the childhood I've fought so hard to give him. "What do you need from me?"
"Follow security protocols. Keep Lucas close. Trust my team to do their jobs." He pauses. "And talk to Stryker. He's wound tight about this entire situation. Thinks he failed you once by walking away, and he's convinced he can't afford to fail again."
Heat creeps up my neck. "He told you that?"
"Didn't have to. I've known him long enough to read between the lines.
" Kane stands. "One more thing before we go.
Your phone won't get outside signal here, but we've got an internal network.
You'll receive facility messages and can communicate with the team.
Tommy can walk you through the system later if you need it. "
That explains how messages could reach me. Small comfort when I'm still cut off from the entire world. "Okay."
"Come on. I'll introduce you to the rest of the team properly. Then you can get the full tour."
We head back into the operations center. People look up as we enter, assessing me with the same tactical evaluation Mercer used yesterday. Threat or asset. Liability or useful.
"Rachel Donovan, meet the team." Kane gestures to a woman at one of the computer stations. "Sarah handles signals intelligence and communications. If it involves data or encryption, she's your expert."
Sarah turns in her chair. Late twenties, dark hair pulled back in a practical ponytail, sharp eyes that remind me of researchers I worked with before everything went wrong in Mexico. "Nice to meet you properly. Sorry it's under these circumstances."
"Yeah. Me too."
"Tommy." Kane indicates a man hunched over multiple monitors, fingers flying across keyboards with practiced speed. "Tech specialist. He built most of the security systems here and maintains our operational infrastructure."
Tommy waves without looking up from his screens. "Almost done with those new IDs. Just need to verify the biometric scans one more time."
"Mercer you met yesterday." Kane nods toward where Mercer stands studying a tactical display. "He handles field operations and tactical planning when we're running external missions."
Mercer acknowledges me with a slight nod. No warmth, but no hostility either. Just professional assessment.
"Dylan's still in Phoenix with your sister's family," Kane continues. "He'll be back soon. And Stryker... I ran into him earlier trying to head back to watch after a few hours sleep. Ordered him to stand down. Team's got it covered."
Guilt twists in my chest. Colton exhausted himself keeping us safe, and I'm wandering around his base of operations like a tourist.
"He needed the rest," Sarah says, like she can read my thoughts. "Man runs himself ragged sometimes. We practically had to order him to sleep."
"Tour of the facility?" Kane gestures toward another corridor. "Help you get oriented."
We walk through Echo Base and each section reveals more about the scope of what these people built.
Medical bay with equipment that belongs in a hospital.
Armory stocked with enough weapons to outfit a small army.
He indicates a woman putting away supplies.
“This is Willa. She’s our chief medical officer. ”
The woman turns and flashes me a smile. “I’m a vet, but then the guys are animals so I suppose it fits.”
Kane grins and guides me back into the corridor and to a training facility that include a gym and what looks like a shooting range carved into the mountain. We end our tour at a supply storage with food and equipment for months of sustained operations.
"How long has this been here?" I ask as Kane shows me the communications hub.
"A few years now. We started building it after..." He pauses. "After the team realized we needed a secure base of operations that the Committee couldn't compromise."
"Because they burned other operators."
"Because they burned people we cared about." Kane's voice stays flat, but something moves underneath. Old pain, old anger. "Echo Base exists because we refused to let them keep winning."
We circle back toward the communal area. Lucas is still with Khalid and Odin, laughing at something the dog did. Normal kid sounds in an abnormal situation.
"He's adapting well," Kane observes.
"He's good at adapting. Had to learn young." I watch my son play with the massive dog. "But he shouldn't have to."
"No. He shouldn't."
We stand in silence for a moment, watching Lucas and Khalid. Then Kane excuses himself to handle something in operations, leaving me alone in the corridor.
I should go back to Lucas. Should check on him, make sure he's really okay and not just putting on a brave face. But my feet carry me in the opposite direction, back toward the area Kane showed me earlier.
The armory.
I'm not sure why I'm drawn there. Maybe because weapons mean protection and protection means Lucas stays safe. Maybe because seeing the tools Colton uses to keep us alive makes this all feel more real.
The door is slightly ajar. I push it open and step inside.
Weapons line the walls in organized rows. Rifles, pistols, tactical gear. Everything secured but accessible. Everything maintained with the kind of care that speaks of people who trust their lives to these tools.
"Looking for something specific?"
I turn to find Colton standing near a workbench, cleaning a disassembled pistol. He's changed clothes since last night. Fresh tactical pants and a black t-shirt that shows the outline of muscle and the edge of a holster.
"Couldn't sleep?" I ask instead of answering his question.
"Tried. Didn't work." He sets down the cleaning cloth and really looks at me. "Kane give you the tour?"
"Yeah. This place is... impressive."
"It's necessary." Colton moves around the workbench, closing the distance between us. "You doing okay? Really okay, not just putting on a brave face?"
"I don't know yet." Honesty feels easier than lying. "Ask me again in a few days when the panic subsides and I can think clearly."
"Fair enough."
We stand in silence. Not awkward, exactly, but charged with awareness I'm trying very hard to ignore. He's too close. Smells like gun oil and something clean and masculine. Familiar in ways that make my chest ache.
"Thank you," I say quietly. "For bringing us here. For protecting Lucas. For all of it."
"You already thanked me. In the truck yesterday."
"I'm thanking you again." I meet his eyes. "You didn't have to do this. Could have handed us off to someone else. But you didn't."
"I told you last night. I failed you once. I'm not doing it again." His voice drops. "And Kane was right. I care too much to walk away."
"Kane told you that you care too much?"
"Kane told me to make sure caring doesn't make me stupid." A smile ghosts across his face. "But yeah. I care too much. Always have, even when I pretended I didn't."
My breath catches. We're standing too close.
Heat radiates from his body, and I'm acutely aware of every inch of space between us.
Or lack of space. The air feels charged, electric, like the moment before lightning strikes.
His chest rises and falls, breathing just slightly faster than normal, and I wonder if he feels this too.
This pull. This ache that starts low in my belly and spreads through my limbs.
If I just leaned forward slightly, if I tilted my face up just a fraction more—
"Stryker, you in here? Kane needs... oh."
Tommy stands in the doorway, tablet in hand, taking in the scene with raised eyebrows.
"Kane needs what?" Colton doesn't move, doesn't step back, but his voice shifts into professional mode.
"Meeting soon. Committee chatter analysis from overnight." Tommy's eyes flick between us. "But I can tell him you're busy if..."
"We're not busy." I step back, putting space between myself and Colton. "I should check on Lucas anyway."
"Rachel—"
I head for the door before Colton can say anything else that makes this more complicated than it already is.
I make it three steps down the corridor before I have to stop and lean against the wall, forcing myself to breathe. My heart hammers against my ribs. My hands shake slightly.
That was too close. Too much. Too dangerous when my son's life depends on staying focused and clearheaded.
Not when I remember exactly how much it hurt the last time he walked away.
Footsteps echo behind me. I straighten and start walking before Colton can catch up, before he can say something that cracks the careful walls I've built around my heart.
But his voice follows me anyway. "Rachel, wait."
I stop but don't turn around.
"I meant what I said last night." His voice carries down the corridor. "I'm glad you're here. And I'm not walking away this time."
I close my eyes and try to remember all the reasons why believing him is a terrible idea. All the reasons why letting him back in will only lead to more pain when this is over and he returns to being an operator while I disappear into witness protection with Lucas.
All the reasons that made perfect sense five minutes ago and now feel flimsy as tissue paper.
"I need to check on Lucas," I say without turning around.
Then I walk away before he can see that his words landed exactly where he meant them to. Before he can see that I want to believe him so badly it terrifies me.
Before he can see that I never stopped caring either, no matter how hard I tried.
I make it back to the communal area. Lucas is teaching Khalid a game involving Ghost and Odin, both of them laughing. Normal and safe and exactly what my son deserves.
Sarah emerges from operations and approaches me with a gentle smile. "Dylan just called in again. Wanted me to tell you that your sister and her family are doing well. Shaken up but safe. The protection team is solid, all people Victoria Cross personally vetted."
"Thank you." The relief is physical, loosening the knot in my chest slightly.
"He also said to tell you..." Sarah pauses, choosing her words carefully. "That he understands what it's like to protect a kid from people who want them dead. And that you're stronger than you think."
Tears burn behind my eyes but I blink them back. "He doesn't even know me."
"He knows Khalid. And he knows what it takes to keep a child safe when the entire world feels dangerous." Sarah touches my arm briefly. "You're not alone in this. The whole team is invested in keeping Lucas safe now. That's how we work."
I watch Lucas play with Khalid and Odin. Watch him laugh and be a normal kid despite everything he's been through. Despite the nightmares and the fear and the knowledge that bad people are hunting him.
Maybe Sarah's right. Maybe I'm not alone anymore.
Maybe that's the most dangerous thought of all.
Because letting myself lean on Colton and his team means trusting them to catch me if I fall. And trust is the one thing I'm not sure I can afford.
My phone pulses in my pocket. I pull it out, confused because there's no signal this deep in the mountain.
A message displays on the screen. Not from a contact. From the facility's internal network.
Committee encrypted communications intercepted. Kessler expanding search radius. Additional assets deployed. Timeline accelerating. War room briefing ASAP. All hands. - Tommy
I stare at the message as ice floods my veins.
Kessler. Expanding his search. More Committee operatives hunting for us.
Lucas's laughter echoes through the communal area, bright and innocent and completely unaware that the man who wants him dead is getting closer.
I press the phone against my chest and force myself to breathe.
War room. Now. Time to find out exactly how bad this has become.