---
Mihos listened to him without interrupting. That was worse than getting angry.
When Dickoff finished, the pavilion held silence again.
Mihos leaned back very slightly.
He asked, "They struck in the night."
Dickoff replied, "Yes."
"Before the formal opening of tomorrow's pressure line."
"Yes."
That answer hung for a beat.
Then Mihos smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. It was the kind that appeared when anger became so sharp it no longer needed noise to prove itself.
"So," he said softly, "they thought they were clever."
Dickoff said nothing.
Mihos's fingers tapped once against the carved arm of his chair.
"They were supposed to be reacting," he said. "They were supposed to spend the night swallowing panic while your side spread more rot by morning." His smile thinned. "Instead, they went hunting."
That word changed the air in the pavilion.
Stephen did not move.
Dickoff remained bowed enough to show respect and upright enough not to look broken.
