Flash slowly lowered the hand he had kept raised all this time to hold the team frozen in place. He turned toward the window, staring at the spot where the mercenary had just vanished, his voice remaining even, almost casual.
"That wasn't some lucky scout. That was someone checking a specific point and getting confirmation that something's here. And if he left without going in, it means his job was to find something."
Ethan lifted his head slowly, as though each movement required internal permission, and looked at Flash with an expression that mixed anger, exhaustion, and a strange, almost cold clarity.
"So they're not going to grab us right now," he said,not as a question, but as a conclusion.
"They want to see who comes out first."
Gideon quietly confirmed through the earpiece, his voice arriving with a faint delay, as though the signal had to crawl through concrete and interference:
"Logical. If this is one of Corvin's people, he's moving carefully. It's important not to spook the prey too early,and even more important to figure out whether you're connected to anyone else."
"We don't want to reveal our ace in the hole…"
Bruno snorted and leaned his shoulder against the wall, finally allowing himself a slightly deeper breath:
"Perfect. So we're officially bait."
"No," Flash countered sharply, turning to him.
"We're not bait.
Ethan is the bait."
Ethan didn't flinch, didn't react outwardly; he only slowly lowered his gaze to his own hands, as though checking they were still there, and only then spoke:
"Then we definitely can't waste a single minute."
Flash stepped closer and stopped right in front of him,so close there was almost no personal space left between them,and spoke in a low voice, as though even the walls might be listening:
"Listen to me very carefully.
If Corvin already sent a mercenary, it means he's either doubting or covering his bases. Which means your call to Roy reached the right ears and started making them think faster than we anticipated."
"I got that," Ethan nodded. Inside him, something strangely settled, as though the chaos of the last few hours was finally snapping into a clear,if lethally dangerous,picture.
"And that means tomorrow they'll check me especially thoroughly."
"Exactly," Gideon cut in.
"Biometrics, hormonal spikes, pupil response, micro-movements,they won't be looking for lies. They'll be looking for inconsistencies. Because no matter how strong the hypnosis was, it leaves traces. And Gérard knows that."
Bruno pushed off the wall and stepped closer. His voice came out unexpectedly serious, stripped of its usual roughness:
"That's why wisteria isn't up for discussion.
It doesn't just make your blood poisonous to them,it dulls their overall sensitivity to you. You become background noise instead of an object of interest."
Ethan gave a short nod, then lifted his gaze and asked, looking at all of them at once:
"And if they dig deeper anyway?"
Flash didn't answer immediately. He paced the room, stopped by the door to check the lock, then came back before speaking:
"Then we switch to the emergency protocol.
If they start tearing you open right there, we launch the broadcast earlier than planned,even if the data is raw and incomplete."
"That'll expose us," Bruno pointed out.
"We're already exposed," Flash replied calmly. "The only question now is who pulls the trigger first. If it's them, fine. If not… then we might still have a chance."
A soft exhale came through the earpiece, then Gideon added, more gently:
"Ethan… if it gets really bad,if you feel yourself losing control,you have to walk away. Even if it ruins everything."
Ethan gave a joyless half-smile.
"I'm not walking away," he said.
"If I turn and run, they win without a fight. And I've come too far to save only myself."
Flash held his gaze for a long, heavy moment,as though memorizing him,then nodded:
"Then listen carefully."
He spread a tablet on the table and turned on the screen. The dim light illuminated all three faces.
"We're changing the timing. You take the wisteria not forty minutes before, but an hour before,so your body has time to fully stabilize. After that, you leave alone and you don't come back here under any circumstances."
"And us?" Bruno asked.
"We disappear," Flash answered.
"We change location, leave this warehouse empty. When they come here, they find only dust and signs of a hasty exit."
Gideon added quietly:
"I'll generate noise online,fake trails,so they think you headed west."
Ethan slowly stood up. Where fear had been, only cold focus remained. He spoke as though drawing a final line under everything that had come before:
"So it all gets decided tomorrow."
"No," Flash corrected, looking him straight in the eyes.
"It gets decided the moment you walk into that hall and realize there really is no way back."
"Then let's rest and start carrying out the plan tomorrow," Ethan said, sitting down on a crate.
"Now that's the best decision we've made all day!" Bruno shouted.
•••
Morning arrived without any gentle dawn softness, without the tender pink haze that usually blurs the edges of the horizon.
The sky above the city was clear,too clear,without a single cloud, as though it had been scrubbed clean especially for this day so nothing would obstruct the view of the endless blue.