[color=#697DFF]“Alright,”[/color] Evie said softly, the smile gone from her face. [color=#697DFF]“You had your chance.”[/color] She set the bat so the metal thunked once on the glass—simple, final.

She didn’t shout. She didn’t gloat. She got practical.

[color=#697DFF]“Locke — cripple. Aim low. Don’t kill.”[/color] Her voice cut across the chamber like a scalpel. [color=#697DFF]“Aramis — find and crush a rune node. If that mist breathes again, we lose minds, not just bodies.”[/color]

[color=#697DFF]“Yumi — you’re on containment. If he moves to hurt someone, end it. If you can pin him without killing, do it.”[/color]

[color=#697DFF]“Androph — non-lethal if you can, leg breaks, hammers to joints. If he goes lethal on someone, you go lethal back. Clear?”[/color]

She slid her hand along Roscoe’s neck and spoke low so the dog heard steel and comfort both. [color=#697DFF]“Roscoe — scent and hold. If he bolts, bite pressure. Don’t maul.”[/color] The wolfdog’s tail gave a single, tight wag; his muzzle lifted in promise.

Then Evie took a breath, squared her shoulders, and stepped forward a pace to make sure the team was listening.

[color=#697DFF]“We wanted him alive. He chose otherwise. Fine. We do our job. Bring him down fast, clean, and without giving this place any more hooks into us.”[/color]