The briefing room is silent the moment you finish speaking.

Agents freeze. Files stop rustling. Even the air feels tighter.

Amanda Waller stands at the front of the table, hands clasped, eyes like cold iron. You just said the one thing no one ever says to her:

“You’re wrong. And I’m not following that order.”

A few agents look like they’re about to pass out.

Harcourt, standing against the wall with arms crossed, goes completely still.

Waller lifts an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

You inhale, forcing yourself not to shrink under her stare. “Your plan gets innocent people killed. I won’t be part of that.”

A few sharp inhales echo in the room. Everyone knows how this usually goes. People don’t survive Waller’s displeasure—not in a career sense, not sometimes in a literal sense.

But you hold your ground.

Waller tilts her head. Calm. Calculated. Dangerous. “You think you know better than me?”

“I think,” you say carefully, “that morality isn’t optional just because you’re in charge.”

A muscle in Harcourt’s jaw twitches.

Waller steps toward you, heels clicking with terrifying precision. “You want to challenge my authority in front of my own operatives?”

“You forced us into the dark long enough.”

Harcourt finally moves.

Not dramatically—not enough for anyone besides you to notice—but she shifts her stance, subtly angling her body half a step in front of yours. Protective. Quiet. Ready.

Waller notices.

Of course she does.

“Well, well,” Waller says, tone flat. “Looks like Harcourt has a favorite.”

Harcourt’s voice is cold steel. “My loyalty is to the mission.”

Waller smiles—a razor blade of a smile. “Is it?”

Harcourt stiffens. You swallow hard.

Waller returns her gaze to you. “You don’t understand what I do. The decisions I make. The scale. The cost.”

You lift your chin. “Maybe not. But I know when something crosses a line.”

“And you think I crossed it today?”

“I think you erased it a long time ago.”

Sharp. Too sharp.

A few agents actually take a step back.

Waller’s eyes narrow. “You speak out again, and you’ll be out of A.R.G.U.S. before the sun sets.”

The room holds its breath.

You open your mouth—

But Harcourt cuts in, voice firm, unwavering:

“With respect, ma’am, they have a point.”

Everyone stares.

Even Waller.

“You’re evaluating them incorrectly,” Harcourt continues. “They didn’t challenge your leadership—they challenged a threat to civilian lives. That’s what you trained us to do.”

Waller looks at her like she’s dissecting her soul.

“And you’re willing to stake your career on that?” she asks.

A long beat.

Harcourt’s voice softens—but somehow grows stronger.

“Yes.”

Your heart lurches.

Waller studies her for an agonizing moment… then turns away.

“Fine,” she says. “The mission proceeds with modifications.” She stops at the door. “But this conversation isn’t over"