Page 45 of Falcon’s Forever

“I’ve already ordered two more units,” Condor replies.

“Of course you have,” Zip mutters.

The fence itself is untouched. There are no cut wires, no pressure marks, and nobody tried to get through it. That should feel like good news but it doesn't, because testing us without breaching takes discipline, and discipline means somebody's been watching us long enough to know exactly how far to push.

"Pull every patrol time for the last week," I tell Zip. "I want to know if the sightings line up with gaps." To Ice Pick, "Check the fence at the same distance all the way round, see if they parked anywhere else."

"Got it." Ice Pick nods.

Vulture watches me a moment. "Church in thirty." Then, before he turns, "Everyone there."

By the time Church starts the room's full and the mood's different than it's been all week. Not panic. Focus. Ice Pick drops photos of the tire tracks on the table.

"They parked in three places," Rook says. "South, northeast, near the old service gate."

"This one's older," Ice Pick adds, tapping the third photo. "Maybe two days."

"So they've been closer than we thought," Harrier says, and the humor's gone out of his face entirely.

Zip's already got the laptop turned around. "I ran the sightings against patrol rotation. Two of the three passes happened inside ten minutes of a shift change."

"Could be coincidence," Sterling says.

"The stop near the south line wasn't. It sat there nineteen minutes, during the longest gap in visibility we've got." Zip points at the times on the screen.

Condor pulls up the camera map. "They know where the blind spots are."

Nobody speaks for a moment. There’s no panic, only a grim understanding settling over the group.

Ice Pick straightens and scans the fence line. “Either they’ve watched us long enough to map the compound, or somebody handed them the map.”

“We’re not starting a witch hunt without evidence,” Vulture warns before anyone can seize on the suggestion.

“Nobody said we were,” Ice Pick replies, his expression hardening.

“You were thinking it,” I point out.

Vulture looks between us. “Don’t.”

His voice is flat enough to end the argument before it can begin.

I step in before it turns into something we don't need right now. "Either way, we fix the weakness first." I point at the map. "No more predictable rotation gaps. Patrols overlap fifteen minutes until this is done. Cameras cover the dead zones. Nobody leaves the compound alone, patched or prospect."

"Supply runs?" Harrier asks.

"Two vehicles. Nobody does anything alone."

Rook taps the women's house on the map. "Do we move them?"

That one lands and sits there. Vulture looks at me, and I understand what he's doing, letting the VP answer it after everything I promised the house yesterday morning. Choice. Information. Not deciding for them.

"We don't move anyone without talking to them first," I say. "Unless we've got an active breach. We agreed that with them yesterday."

Sterling nods. "Agreed."

"Even if we think it's safer?" Harrier asks.

"Then we tell them why, and they decide," I say meaning every word.