Outside, the first black SUVs rolled onto the gravel. The rain continued to hammer, but inside the safehouse, the air went still. They didn't need a plan; they needed the promise.
Elias didn’t look up. "If we move now, we’re seen. If we’re seen, we’re dead. Sit down, Kael. Brother up." [S1E14] Brother Up
Kael took a breath, his own hand finding Elias’s arm. The fire in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp clarity. "Ready. Brother up." Outside, the first black SUVs rolled onto the gravel
"We can't just wait here, Eli," Kael snapped, his voice cracking like dry kindling. "The Syndicate is closing the perimeter. If we don’t move now, we’re buried." Elias didn’t look up
The phrase hung in the air, heavy and familiar. It was their code, born in the trenches when the world was ending. It meant more than just "be brave." It meant: I am your anchor, and you are mine. If one of us drifts, the other holds the line.
Across from him, Kael was pacing. Kael was the younger of the two—not by blood, but by the scars they both carried from the Siege of Oakhaven. Kael was the fire to Elias’s cold iron, and right now, the fire was spiraling.