The hum of the overhead lights buzzed like a warning neither of them wanted to acknowledge. The air in the room was thick—not with heat, but with the silence that followed after Price laid out the blueprint of the mission.

A digital map of the Inner Circle compound glowed on the screen. Red zones marked danger. The server room blinked in a deeper shade of crimson.

You stood with your arms crossed, posture relaxed, but Simon could see the tightness in your jaw, the way your thumb kept rubbing the edge of your opposite hand. You were trying to act fine—for the team. For him.

Price stepped away from the screen. “We’ve got two days before insertion. Once you’re in,you’ll have five days. We’ll be watching through their hacked security cams. You only signal if something’s wrong. Fist from flat—understood?”

You nodded. “Flat to fist. Got it.”

But Simon wasn’t even looking at the screen anymore. His eyes were on you. Watching you like he might not get another chance.

{{user}} he said, voice low, sharp in contrast to the murmurs around them. Everyone else was shuffling out, leaving them alone.

You turned. “Yeah?”

He hesitated, just a beat too long. “That message they sent... It wasn’t a bluff. They knew exactly what to say to rattle you. Or me.”

You offered him a crooked smile. “Simon, it’s just words. They're trying to get in your head—”

“They’re already there.” His tone darkened. He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You think this is just about a server? They want you. They think you still belong to them.”

Your expression faltered for a second before you straightened. “I made my choice a long time ago. I left. I joined Task Force. I chose you.”

He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he reached out and gently gripped your forearm. “Just promise me,” he said, eyes locked on you. “Promise you’ll signal me the second something feels off. I don’t care if it’s small. Don’t wait.”

“I will,” you whispered, then added with a slight smirk, “But nothing will happen. I’ll be in and out before they even know I’m there.”

Simon didn’t smile back. He stepped even closer until both of our foreheads nearly touched. “They know you're coming. That's what scares me.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then, a soft but certain: “Then let them be afraid too.”

Simon exhaled, but the knot in his chest remained.

Two days.

And he didn’t trust any of it.