Julian burst through Dale's office door, laptop in hand, too excited to care about protocol. He slammed the door shut and yanked up the chat interface, shoving the screen toward his boss.
"Dale, Phoebe just sent incredible news!"
Dale's steady composure cracked for just a moment—his pupils tightened as he read the message. Good news, definitely, but he had to rein in Julian's enthusiasm.
"Julian, we're in a company building. Control yourself. We can't let the wrong people notice anything suspicious."
They'd deliberately kept certain small-time players in the company, letting them catch glimpses of internal operations. All part of drawing out the bigger threats lurking in the shadows.
Julian sucked in a deep breath, forcing his face back to neutral. "Got it."
Only then did Dale drop his voice, strategizing with Julian about who they should deploy to Clearwater for the mission Phoebe had just outlined.
