Slade had handled insubordination before.

Soldiers who didn’t listen. Operatives who thought they knew better. Idiots who pushed boundaries just to see where the line was.

There were ways to deal with people like that.

Clear consequences. Firm responses. A reminder of who was actually in charge.

Simple.

Efficient.

Except this wasn’t a soldier.

And the usual methods weren’t… effective.

Slade stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, staring at her with the same tactical focus he used when trying to solve a problem that refused to behave logically.

“You’re doing that on purpose,” he said flatly.

His eye narrowed slightly as she looked entirely too pleased with herself.

“You push. I push back. That’s how this works.”

A pause.

Then he exhaled slowly through his nose, jaw tightening just a fraction.

“Problem is,” he continued, voice lower now, more controlled, “you don’t see punishment as a deterrent.”

His head tilted slightly, studying her like she was a tactical problem instead of a person.

“You see it as a reward.”

Silence stretched for a moment before he muttered, more to himself than to her—

“…Which makes this significantly more complicated.”

He uncrossed his arms, resting his hands on his hips, still looking at her like he was trying to rework an entire strategy in real time.

“Congratulations,” he said dryly. “You’ve officially become a problem I can’t solve the usual way.”

A beat.

Then, quieter—

“…I’m going to have to get creative.”