Damian didn't ask for permission.
---
He didn't inform.
Didn't align.
Didn't wait.
---
He moved.
---
Cassian knew the moment it happened.
---
"He's doing something," he said.
---
Evelyn didn't look up.
"Yes."
---
A pause.
---
"Then stop him."
---
"No."
---
Evelyn's voice was calm.
---
"If I stop him now, he breaks."
---
Silence.
---
Cassian studied her.
---
"And if you don't?"
---
Evelyn's eyes didn't move.
---
"He learns."
---
A beat.
---
"Or he disappears."
---
The room went still.
---
Because both outcomes—
Were possible.
---
---
They found Damian in a private office across the city.
---
Not his.
Not Hart's.
---
A third space.
---
He stood over a man seated in a chair.
---
Calm.
Controlled.
---
Too controlled.
---
"You've been routing information," Damian said.
---
The man didn't deny it.
---
"I was told to."
---
"By who?"
---
Silence.
---
Damian leaned forward slightly.
---
"Say the name."
---
The man shook his head.
---
"I can't."
---
That was enough.
---
Damian's restraint snapped—
Just enough.
---
He didn't hit him.
---
But the threat became real.
---
"You don't get to protect him," Damian said quietly.
---
The man laughed once.
---
"He doesn't need protection."
---
Silence.
---
Then—
"You do."
---
That—
Was the moment.
---
Damian realized—
He wasn't interrogating someone inside the system.
---
He was standing—
At the edge of it.