Page 73 of Dose

“The western hub,” I say.

“The western hub,” she agrees.

I press my face into her hair and hold her while the last of the tremor leaves my hand.

Tomorrow, we begin again.

23

ISLA

The formal review begins at eight the next morning in the Chamber.

Yesterday’s debrief accounted for every minute, every child, and the single round fired into the verification-lab ceiling. This meeting is about what Phoenix changed.

The Chamber itself is unchanged: tiered concrete, a central table, tactical displays suspended above it. All nine brothers occupy their usual places. Jenna sits at Nikolai’s right with one hand curved over her belly. I take the chair beside Theon without waiting for anyone to tell me where I belong.

That is the first difference.

The second is that no one looks to Theon before speaking to me.

“Phoenix extraction confirmed,” Nikolai says. “Sixty-three children delivered to three initial recovery sites. No deaths among the children or our personnel. One hostile injured and left for responding authorities. All medication cases and dosing records reconciled against the transport manifests.”

The main display fills with six columns, one for each vehicle. Every column ends at the same number it began with.

“The west-corridor failure remains under review,” he continues. “Our model missed the insulated room. The entry sweep did not account for a thermal blind space. Isla was separated from her escort for thirty-eight seconds.” His gaze lands on me. “Specialist Summer stayed within her assignment, reported contact, defended herself, accepted medical assessment, and resumed only after command offered withdrawal.”

It is praise in Nikolai’s language: facts arranged without softness.

“Her lot verification was clean,” Raphael says. “Every recovery team received the correct working stock. We have had no medication discrepancy overnight.”

Damon sits with his forearms against the table. “She also followed the revised route after contact. No freelancing.”

“Except for weaponizing metrology,” Darius says.

“That occurred before the route revision.”

“Then no unauthorized freelancing.” Darius inclines his head to me. “Terrifyingly efficient.”

I look around the table and try to identify what has shifted.

They listened to me before Phoenix. Ezra challenged my models. Marcus used my intelligence. Nikolai gave me a place in operational discussions when I had earned access to the information. I was not cargo they tolerated for Theon’s sake, whatever the frightened part of me sometimes insisted.

But this is different. They have seen what happens to my judgment when the plan fails. They know what I do when it stops protecting me.

That kind of trust cannot be borrowed from Theon.

“Now the problem,” Marcus says.

The Phoenix display disappears. In its place, an outbound logistics map spreads across the Chamber.

“Four hours after the extraction, the western hub rotated credentials and suspended three pharmaceutical shipments. Two were restored under new routing codes before dawn. The third was divided among five distribution points we had not identified.”

“Endpoints?” Nikolai asks.

“Possibly. Seven of the destinations tie to known U.S. facilities. Four more are unverified. The western hub may supply eleven endpoints in total.”

“The children at those facilities cannot wait while Korte panics,” Raphael says.