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“Hell of an intel packet,” he said when he saw her. “Those coordinates you provided in Somalia saved nine lives. Good work.”

“Thanks, Nick.” She felt her throat tighten. “I’m glad they made it out.”

“We all are.”

Jade Devlin sat at the table, her lean frame radiating coiled energy. She’d cut her dark hair short since Elena had last seen her—cropped close to her skull in a way that emphasized her high cheekbones and the striking contrast of brilliant green eyes against dark skin. A knife danced between her fingers in a familiar pattern, the blade catching light as it moved.

“Your memory is impressive,” Jade said, nodding toward Elena’s maps. “Seven years and you remember structural details down to the meter. That’s exceptional.”

“I had strong motivation to remember,” Elena said.

Max Devlin stood behind his wife, one hand resting on her shoulder. He was massive—easily six three, two twenty of solid muscle—with military-short hair and an alpha male presence that filled a room. “We’re going to get your niece back,” he said, his voice carrying absolute certainty. “That’s not a question.”

Reza Ben-Ari—the Prophet—occupied the corner like a shadow made solid. Dark eyes assessed her with an intensity that came from years of calculating angles and odds. He didn’t speak, just nodded once. Elena had worked with him enough to know his silence was respect, not indifference.

Griffin stood by the window, watching the street below with paranoia. His British accent crisp when he spoke. “The drainage tunnel entrance—you’ve confirmed it’s still accessible?”

“Cal’s confirmed it with ground-penetrating radar,” Elena said. “I remember the layout, but he’s got current data.”

“Which is exactly why we’re all here,” Atticus said. He gestured to the laptop screen set up at the end of the table, where Cal Cruz’s face grinned at them.

Cal’s tattooed arms were visible as he adjusted something off camera, the intricate designs on his forearms shifting as he moved. “There’s my favorite analyst,” he said in his South Carolina drawl. “Ready to see what I’ve been cooking up?”

“Show me,” Elena said, moving closer to the screen.

“All right, people.” Atticus’s voice cut through the room, bringing everyone to attention. “Let’s talk current intelligence. Cal, you’re up.”

Cal’s expression shifted from friendly to all business. “I’ve been monitoring the temple’s systems for the last thirty-six hours. Here’s what we know.”

A new window appeared on the laptop—thermal satellite imagery showing the temple as a glowing structure against cooler jungle. Bright spots indicated heat signatures.

“This is from ninety minutes ago,” Cal said. “Sixteen total heat signatures. Six exterior guards on rotating patrol—two at the main entrance, two on the western approach, two mobile. Ten interior, concentrated mostly on levels one and two.”

He zoomed in on the image. “Level three shows minimal activity. Just two guards, and they’re following a predictable patrol pattern. Takes them approximately twelve minutes to complete a full circuit of the level.”

“Guard rotation schedule?” Jade asked, leaning forward to study the image.

“Every four hours, like clockwork. I’ve monitored three complete shift changes. The twenty-two hundred rotation is consistently the sloppiest—average of seven to nine minutes for complete handoff. That’s our window.”

Another image appeared—ground-penetrating radar showing the temple’s internal structure. “This confirms Elena’s memory is accurate. The drainage tunnel is still open, still accessible. Four feet high, three feet wide, clear of debris. Water flow indicates no blockages.”

Elena felt relief wash through her. Her nightmares hadn’t lied. The tunnel was real, was there, would work.

“Security systems?” Atticus asked.

“Sixteen cameras total.” Cal pulled up a schematic. “Six exterior, ten interior, all feeding to a central monitoring station on level one. Commercial-grade system, decent but not military spec. I can loop the feeds for thirty minutes, maybe forty before their system flags the anomaly.”

“Communications?”

“Encrypted radios, but it’s commercial-grade encryption. I cracked it yesterday afternoon.” Cal’s grin was pure pride. “I’ll be monitoring all their channels during the operation. If they sneeze, I’ll hear it.”

“Electronic locks on the cells?” Jade asked.

“Yep. I can disable them remotely once you’re in position. But—” his expression turned serious, “—opening a cell triggers a silent alarm at their security station. You’ll have maybe ninety seconds before guards respond.”

“Ninety seconds to get from the cell block to the ventilation shaft,” Reza said, studying the maps. “Tight, but doable.”

Atticus turned to Elena. “Your intelligence from your time there before—does anything Cal just showed us contradict what you remember?”