Page 156 of Dark Night of the Soul

He raised his hands. “Professionally speaking.”

She ignored him entirely.

“What about the data?” she asked, leaning over the blueprint. “How do we confirm we’ve destroyed everything?”

“Thermite,” Ulrich said. “Burns through server racks completely. Nothing recoverable.”

“And backups?” Her focus was sharp. Absolute.

“Cloud storage is isolated on a separate system,” Ludwig said. “We’ll need physical access to wipe it before we burn the servers.”

“How long does the wipe take?” she asked.

“Five minutes or less,” he said.

“And if there’s a backup we don’t know about?” Her gaze flicked up to his, then mine.

Ulrich and Ludwig exchanged a glance.

“There’s always that risk,” Ulrich admitted.

She straightened. “I need to see the server room myself. Confirm what’s there.”

“That puts you inside,” Ludwig said, and for once his tone was serious. No flirtation. Fact. “You sure about that?”

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t look at me for permission.

“Then you’re with me,” I said.

Ludwig tilted his head, studying her. “You know, most people would want to stay in the van for their first infiltration.”

“I’m not most people,” she said.

His smile returned—brief, genuine. “No. You’re not.”

I watched him watch her. Saw the moment he caught himself and redirected his attention back to the blueprints.

“Roles,” I said, bringing focus back. “Ulrich, you’re on comms and extraction. Ludwig—”

“Perimeter and interference,” he finished. “I know the drill.”

“She and I go in through the maintenance entrance here.” I traced the route on the blueprint. “Service elevator to sub-level two. Five minutes to reach the server room.”

“Guards?” she asked.

“Two. We handle them,” I said.

“And if it’s not quiet?” she asked.

“Then Ludwig creates a diversion,” I said. “Pulls attention away from our exit route.”

“So, you don’t want me handling them?” she said, one brow lifted.

Silence descended.

“You can handle them?” Ludwig asked, eyeing her with curiosity. And newfound respect.

“No,” I said. “Not this time.”