My vision blurs red instantly.
“She had a name!”
The tunnel echoes with the force of my scream.
And behind Wu—
one of the Sentinel operatives flinches.
Tiny movement.
Barely noticeable.
But I see it.
So does Russ.
Interesting.
Wu notices too.
His voice sharpens immediately.
“Maintain discipline.”
The operative goes still again.
Too still.
Like instinct got crushed back down by training.
A strange ache twists through my chest.
Because suddenly I recognize it.
Not the operative.
The reaction.
Conditioning.
Fear.
Obedience drilled so deeply into someone that their body reacts before their mind can.
Oh God.
Not all of them are willing.
Some of them are survivors too.
Gabriel sees it at the exact same time I do.
And his entire face hardens.
“There it is,” he mutters darkly.
Wu ignores him.
