Page 278

I waited.

Old instinct pushed. Choose the specimen route.

Keep her inside controlled infrastructure.

If something went wrong, I could handle it.

Probably.

That was not the point.

I forced the thought down.

“Talia.”

She looked up from the projection. “Mm.”

“Which risk do you want?”

Her finger stopped over the display. She went quiet.

Only for a second.

But I saw it.

“What?” she asked, drawing the word out.

I gestured toward the map. “Route one: greater system exposure, lower physical exposure. Route two: lower system exposure, greater physical exposure.”

She tilted her head, and her gaze moved from the route to me. “You’re asking me.”

“Yes.”

“You already have a preference.” Not a question.

“Yes.”

“Which one?”

“Route one.”

“Why?”

“Easier to defend you in a constrained environment.”

She pressed her lips together. “And if the system locks down?”

“We may lose mobility.”

“And route two?”

“We retain mobility but increase contact risk.”

She looked back at the schematic and let out a slow breath through her nose. Her thumb traced the external route without selecting it.

I said nothing else. That was harder than expected.

Finally she pointed to route one.