Page 23 of Thexan

“It’s also a good way to break your neck if you’re not careful.”

“I will be careful.”

She gave me a look that suggested she did not consider that a reliable variable, then leaned slightly closer, adjusting the map so that the lower terrain features were more visible.

“They’ll come in from here,” she said, tracing a route along a gradual incline that led toward the settlement’s outer perimeter. “That’s the easiest approach. If they’re tracking you, they’ll follow the least resistance path first.”

“They will not rely on ease,” I said. “They will rely on efficiency.”

“Same difference when you’re trying not to fall off a mountain.”

I considered that.

“It changes their timing,” I said. “Not their objective.”

“Which is you.”

“Yes.”

“And anyone in the way.”

“Yes.”

She exhaled slowly, her hand tightening briefly against mine before easing again.

“Then we don’t give them the chance to get that far,” she said.

“No.”

I traced the ridgeline again, calculating distance, elevation, and the likely points of convergence once they committed to the final phase of approach.

“They expect me to remain in place,” I said. “To rely on concealment.”

“And you’re not going to do that.”

“No.”

Her gaze lifted to mine, and for a moment the connection between us sharpened, not just physical, but something deeper, the alignment we had both been avoiding defining settling into something more deliberate.

“Good,” she said.

The response required no elaboration.

I returned my attention to the map, the plan already forming with increasing clarity as the variables aligned.

“We will control the engagement,” I said. “We will draw them away from the settlement and limit their options.”

“And end it before anyone else gets involved.”

“Yes.”

Her grip tightened again, not from uncertainty but from agreement.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then she nodded once.

“All right,” she said. “Then we do it your way.”