Page 50 of Controlled Drift
It had kicked the door in.
Chapter Ten
The conference roomhad never felt small before.
It wasn’t the size that had changed—it was the people in it.The way they filled the space without crowding it.The way every chair scrape and footstep carried intent instead of noise.Ethan felt it the second he stepped inside: this wasn’t a discussion room anymore.
It was a war room.
Kael stood at the head of the table, forearms braced against the glass surface, shoulders squared.He didn’t raise his voice.He didn’t need to.Everyone who entered instinctively oriented toward him, gravity pulling them into position.
Ethan took the chair beside Niko, the familiar weight of his presence grounding him even as his chest felt too tight to draw a full breath.The images on the main screen hadn’t changed since the call—Vermont, the campus layout, timestamps blinking red where lives had ended—but seeing them again made his stomach twist all over.
“All right,” Kael said.“You all know why we’re here.”
The room quieted fully.
“Primary objective,” Kael continued, tapping the screen once, “is recovery of Marcus Payne.Secondary objective is neutralization of Gregory Payne.”
Neutralization.
The word slid into Ethan like a blade wrapped in silk.
Victor shifted back in his chair.“Alive or—”
“Alive?”Niko cut in, sharp enough to slice the air.“Hell no.”
Every head turned.
Ethan felt the heat of it—Niko’s fury, clean and unfiltered, no hesitation in it at all.
“We’ve taken out assholes who deserved it less,” Niko went on, voice cold, absolute.“This man murdered teachers to make a point.He tortured his own kid to send a message.He doesn’t get a cell.He gets a grave.”
The room didn’t argue.
Ethan turned to Niko slowly.“What does we’ve taken out assholes who deserved it less mean?”
