Page 79 of Echo: Line
The team gravitates toward the display. Victoria Cross's face fills the screen in pre-recorded video, sharp and amused.
"Gentlemen. And ladies." Her eyes seem to look directly at Delaney. "Call it an investment in future business. Try not to die—I hate losing clients."
The video cuts to facility schematics. Not the outdated layouts we've been working from, but current blueprints showing recent modifications. Guard stations. Camera coverage. Server room locations. Everything we need rendered in perfect detail.
"How the hell did she get these?" Stryker breathes.
"She's Cross," Kane says, like that explains everything. It probably does.
The schematics rotate, highlighting security protocols. Guard rotation schedules down to the minute. Response time estimates. Weak points in perimeter coverage. It's comprehensive enough to cut our failure probability from "extremely likely" to merely "probable."
"This changes the approach," Rourke says, already recalculating angles. "If we hit during this twelve-minute gap in coverage, we can bypass the main checkpoint entirely."
"Server room is here." Sarah taps the screen. "Three floors underground. Two guard stations between entrance and target. But these ventilation shafts..." She traces a path. "Might be large enough."
"For you maybe," Stryker mutters. "Some of us actually have shoulders."
The planning intensifies. Kane coordinates, pulling everyone's expertise into cohesive strategy. The operation that felt suicidal an hour ago starts feeling merely dangerous. Cross's intel doesn't guarantee success, but it tips odds from impossible to survivable.
Good enough. We don't need guarantees. Just better odds than suicide.
Kane calls the brief at 1800 hours. The team assembles around the tactical display, each of us carrying the weight of what tomorrow means. This isn't hitting a supply depot or extracting an asset. This is assaulting Committee headquarters—the heart of the conspiracy that's been systematically murdering burned operators for years.
"Objective is simple," Kane begins. "Infiltrate Committee headquarters, access evidence servers, extract data, exfiltrate before response force arrives. We have approximately forty minutes from breach to extract before we're swimming in hostiles we can't handle."
"Approach vector?" Stryker asks.
Kane highlights the route on screen. "Underground maintenance access. Cross's intel shows it's checked during shift change but not actively monitored. We go in at 0600 during rotation gap. Tommy will loop security feeds. We'll have sixteen minutes before anyone notices the loop."
"Not enough time to reach servers," Rourke observes.
"Which is why we split into two teams. Rourke, you're overwatch. Find a position that covers our extract route. Strykerand I are primary assault—we clear the path and hold position. Tommy stays mobile in the van maintaining our tech access. Sarah coordinates from here."
"And us?" Delaney asks.
"You and Alex are evidence collection. You reach the servers, you pull data, you document everything according to federal standards. Chain of custody, proper procedures, whatever makes this prosecutable."
"What about security protocols on the servers?" I ask.
Tommy grins. "Already cracked their encryption. I'll have remote access once you're at the terminal. You plug in my device, I do the rest."
"Exfiltration?" Stryker asks.
"Same route we came in. If it's compromised, we have two backup routes—here and here." Kane marks them. "But those take us through more heavily monitored areas. Primary route is our best chance."
"And if we can't reach primary?" Rourke's question hangs heavy.
"Then we improvise and pray. Same as every operation."
Delaney raises her hand like she's in a classroom. Kane nods at her.
"Chain of custody requirements," she says. "We need documentation showing when data was acquired, who handled it, how it was secured. Otherwise the defense attorneys will shred it in court. I'll need time stamps, photo documentation, signed logs from everyone who touches the evidence."
"How much time?" Kane asks.
"Ten minutes. Maybe twelve if the systems are complex."
"We won't have twelve minutes."
