He gestured toward us.
“Proceed.”
I stepped forward, setting my hands on the back of an empty chair in front of me.
“The original approach was targeted extraction,” I began. “Single-site recovery with minimal exposure and no indication of Arca involvement.”
Knox picked up seamlessly.
“That strategy no longer serves us,” he said, his tone direct. “We have too many confirmed locations. Hitting them one at a time gives Bellini too much time to move the rest.”
I nodded once, continuing.
“So we don’t give him that chance.”
I tapped the map laid out in the packet.
“We hit all seven locations simultaneously.”
A shift moved through the room as their attention sharpened.
Knox stood beside me, bracing his hands on the table.
“Coordinated strikes,” he said. “Same time, same window. Fast entry, controlled extraction. No delays between sites.”
“We'll recover as many omegas as possible in a single sweep,” I added. “Best case, we'll procure over half his assets in one operation.”
“Worst case, a few less but,” Knox cut in, “we still force movement.”
I glanced at him briefly, then back to the room.
“Bellini won’t sit on a loss like that,” I said. “He’ll relocate all remaining omegas immediately.”
“And he won’t do it cleanly,” Knox added. “He’ll rush. Cut corners. Make mistakes.”
“That’s where surveillance comes in.”
“We track the movement,” Knox said. “Follow the gaps.”
“And finish it,” I concluded.
Silence settled over the room for a beat, as they focused on the briefing packets, reviewing each detail.
The plan wasn’t subtle.
It wasn’t meant to be.
“What about Bellini?” a heavyset general with a thick mustache asked, taking a slow sip of his water.
Knox didn’t hesitate. “We wait.”
A faint crease formed between the man’s brows.
“Not for long,” I added, stepping in. “Once we hit the seven sites, his operation fractures. The other families are only aligned with him because he has the resources to keep them loyal.”
“The number of omegas he’s holding isn’t just greed,” Knox said. “It’s leverage. Take that away, and he loses the ability to maintain control.”
I continued, pacing the explanation forward.
