"Our side is clean," I said. "We know our positions, our rotations, our fallback routes. If their half collapses, we pull back to our formation and protect our own."
Belle's protein bar paused halfway to her mouth. "That's cold."
"That's alive."
"Jace." Naomi's voice carried the gentle firmness she used when she thought I was being a dick and wanted me to arrive at that conclusion on my own rather than having it delivered through confrontation. "We're supposed to be one team tonight."
"We're supposed to be a lot of things." I took another drink. "But I'm not dying because Charles Leone thinks lateral movement is beneath his station, and I'm not letting you die for the same reason. Our priority is bringing our people home. If Blair's group can keep up, great. If they can't, that's on their captain and their training."
