Page 57 of Echo: Line
Kane shakes his head. "Too risky. Committee knows what you look like. The moment they confirm visual identification, they will converge with overwhelming force."
"That is the point," Delaney says. "We want them to converge. Just not on Echo Base."
I step forward before Kane can shut her down. "She's right. We're boxed in. Committee has sixty assets creating a net around our position. We stay dark, we're trapped. We move, we risk detection. But if we give them a target somewhere else, we create operational freedom."
Kane turns his attention to me. "And you think sending Delaney out there as bait is the smart play?"
"I think it's the only play we have right now."
Silence settles over the command center. Willa pushes off from the weapons rack, moving closer. "If we do this, it needs to be surgical. One sighting, controlled exit, zero contact."
"Agreed," I say. "We stage it in a public location. Gas station, convenience store. Somewhere with security cameras that feed into systems Tommy can access. Committee sees her on camera, mobilizes assets to that location, we extract before they arrive."
Tommy nods slowly. "I can make that work. Plant the footage in law enforcement databases, make it look like a legitimate sighting. Committee will pick it up within minutes."
"And when they realize it was a decoy?" Kane asks.
"By then we have already relocated Delaney to a secure position and regained operational mobility," I say. "It buys us time."
Kane looks at each of us in turn. Then he nods once. "Alright. But we do this right. Full tactical planning. Multiple contingencies. And Delaney does not go out there without proper training first." He focuses on her. "Which means you aregrounded until you complete weapons qualifications and tactical protocols. Could be days. Maybe a week."
"Understood," Delaney says.
"Tommy, start working up locations. I want three options by morning. Alex, debrief the team on what the Committee knows. If we are running ops, everyone needs full picture." Kane is already moving toward the exit. "Get some rest. We start planning at zero-six-hundred."
He leaves. Willa follows, but not before giving Delaney a small nod of approval. Tommy turns back to his monitors, muttering about database access protocols and camera feeds.
That leaves me standing with Delaney in the command center.
"You didn't have to back me up," she says quietly.
"You were right. Kane knows it. He just needed to hear someone else say it."
"Someone he trusts."
I meet her eyes. "Someone operational. You are still FBI in his head. Not one of us yet."
The words land harder than I intend. I watch her jaw tighten slightly. "Right. Of course."
"Delaney—"
"It's fine. I should get some rest like Kane said." She is already moving toward the tunnel that leads to quarters. "See you at the debrief."
She disappears before I can say anything else.
I stand there for a moment, feeling the weight of what I just did. Pushed her away again. Put operational necessity ahead of everything else. It is what I am trained to do. What I am good at.
It feels like shit.
"You're an idiot," Tommy says without looking up from his screens.
"Excuse me?"
"She just went toe-to-toe with Kane. No prep. No backup. And you're over here keeping your distance like it's tactical protocol." He glances at me. "You know what your problem is? You're better at tactical planning than being human."
"I'm keeping things professional."
"You're keeping things distant. There's a difference." He returns his attention to the monitors. "Just saying. Some of us would kill for what you're pushing away."
