The woman looks at Hannah sharply.
“Oh my God.”
Tears fill her eyes immediately.
“You remember.”
Wu’s voice slices through the tunnel.
“Enough.”
Cold.
Sharp.
Commanding.
But this time?
Nobody snaps instantly back into line.
That hesitation changes everything.
Gabriel notices too.
And slowly—
very slowly—
he lowers his rifle.
Not surrendering.
Trusting.
Huge difference.
“They remember each other,” he says quietly.
Wu’s jaw tightens.
“They remember manipulated emotional dependency.”
“No,” Hannah whispers.
Her voice echoes softly through the tunnel.
“They remember being children.”
That lands.
Hard.
Because suddenly more operatives start looking at each other differently.
Not as units.
Not as assets.
