Page 54 of Charged By the Razorbacks

“Good,” she said. “Because if they pull this off—”

“They won’t,” Jarek cut in.

Her gaze held his for a second, then shifted to Aleksy.

Agreement. Understanding.

All of it sitting there between them.

Jarek leaned back slightly, exhaling slowly as the weight of it settled—not heavy.

Beside him, Tamsin reached for the fork again, taking another bite like they hadn’t just mapped out Chimera’s next move.

Jarek watched her for a second, then huffed a quiet breath.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

Aleksy glanced at him. “What?”

Jarek’s mouth curved. “We’re in trouble.”

Tamsin looked up, the picture of innocence. “You just figuring that out?”

He met her gaze, no hesitation. “Yeah, and I’m not even mad about it.”

Her smile came slow. Dangerous.

Exactly the kind he liked.

****

They did not rush to meet.

Urgency was a weakness. Reaction was a liability. Chimera had not survived this long by answering problems in real time—they studied them, understood them, and then removed them with precision.

The room came online in fragments.

Encrypted layers resolving into form, distortion masking identity, voices calibrated to remove recognition but preserve authority. No faces. No names. Only presence.

Control required distance. And distance ensured survival.

Seven figures assembled.

Data filled the space instead.

Live feeds. Predictive models. Failure reports.

A pattern of disruption that had begun as interference and was now evolving into something far more deliberate.

The E.S.E.

“They have moved beyond reaction,” one voice said.

“They are anticipating,” another replied. “Which indicates guidance.”

The display shifted again.

Tamsin.