Page 256 of Operation: Defiance

Fuck me.

Raine’s caused enough of a stir to bring the boss here. The asshole who decided to erase people and call it care. She got under his skin.

The stimulant is doing its level best to scatter every thought I have, but that one lands hard. She’s made enough noise to pull the architect of the whole goddamned operation into an interrogation room at—I’ve lost track of the time. Late. Early. Doesn’t matter.

Voss steps close enough I can smell his cologne. Of course, he’d be one of those assholes who bathes in it. “I’ve reviewed your past sessions,” he says, his tone almost academic in its blandness. He radiates calm in a way that lodges a small kernel of fear deep in my chest. Because if he’s calm, he has a plan, and I don’t know what it is. “Every response. Every refusal. Every physiological marker. You value control. Structure. Predictability. So we’ll keep this simple.” He gestures at the camera. “She sees you. She hears you. She decides what happens next.”

Whatever they gave me turns stillness into work. My pulse is too loud. Keeping my expression neutral feels like bracing under a two-ton weight.

He adjusts the angle of the camera slightly. “She believes she can force us to act by putting information into the open,” he says. “She thinks if she pushes hard enough, we’ll trade you for quiet.”

He pauses, studying my face. “We won’t. She’ll see you like this. She’ll understand that every move she makes has a cost. Not abstract. Not theoretical. A cost you will pay.”

He lets the silence stretch long enough, it’s almost unbearable, then lowers his voice so only I can hear it. “You assume she prioritizes outcomes over you. I assume the opposite. We’ll see who’s right in the end.”

I don’t react. Don’t tell him he’s wrong. He’ll find out soon enough.

Destroying Coherent Path has always been the priority. Raine knows it. So do I. We said it out loud when I volunteered to let them take me.

Even if love does complicate things.

I know how she calculates risk. How she hides fear behind logic. She won’t trade the mission for me. But seeing me will divide her focus. I can’t let that happen. She’s close enough to make Voss show up. She needs to know they’re scared.

Voss steps behind the camera, taps the screen, and clears his throat. “State your name.”

These are the two easiest words I’ll have until the end. “Mason Locke.” My throat is so raw, my voice barely holds.

“Tell Calder that whatever she believes she’s doing stops now.”

I focus on Voss standing behind the camera. “No.”

“Tell her that continued action will result in consequences.”

“No.”

Jay lunges for me. The strike is quick and controlled. My head snaps to the side, vision flashing white for a second. I taste blood where my teeth caught the inside of my cheek. The drug won’t let me drift. It pins me in place, fully conscious of the pain. I straighten because collapsing is what they want.

“Tell her to stop,” Voss says again.

Staring through the camera at Voss, I chuckle. “Still no. I’ve seen better plays from a junior varsity football team who just lost their quarterback.”

Voss studies me for a beat, the harsh lights reflecting off the fancy watch at his wrist. I can’t see the time. Fuck. I should have been paying attention earlier.

“Very well,” he says, finally. “Your lack of cooperation will be…noted.” He taps the phone, the recording light shuts off, and he turns back to me. “Men like you don’t break all at once, Mr. Locke. They erode in stages. We’re going to help that along.”

For half a breath, unease churns in my gut. There’s no script for what comes next. Not with Voss directing the play.

The medic steps in, removes the IV, and tapes a piece of gauze to my elbow. In under a minute, I’m alone again. Hoping Northbridge got Raine what she needed. Hoping she understands GSD is running scared. And hoping I can last long enough to see her again.