”Bette… Baby?” she said, her voice low but urgent. ” I saw the van from the house,” Tina said, her voice steady but carrying an unmistakable edge. ”When you didn’t come back after the morning feed, I figured something was wrong. What’s going on?”

Bette turned slightly, enough for Tina to see Kamau hunched on the floor, still fumbling with the first-aid supplies, the rope burns raw across his wrists. Tina’s gaze lingered on him for a long second, the dishevelled state of him, the evident tension in the room before shifting to the two figures standing nearby.

Her eyes landed first on Elijah. She froze, a flicker of disbelief crossing her face.
”Is that—?” she started, her voice catching for half a breath.

Then she noticed Wilson beside him. He, at least, was a trusted figure. But his presence didn’t explain Elijah nor the man on the floor.

Tina’s brow furrowed deeper.
”What the hell is this?” she asked, stepping inside now, her boots striking softly against the old concrete.

Her eyes narrowed on Elijah again, old suspicions rising fast, then darted back to Kamau, reading the situation with growing alarm.

Bette crossed the room in a few slow, measured steps. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Tina’s forearm, grounding them both. She felt the tension humming beneath Tina’s skin, a vibration of anger, fear, and protectiveness all knotted together.

”T,” Bette said quietly, her thumb brushing lightly over Tina’s sleeve. ”I know how this looks. I know it’s a lot.”

Tina didn’t pull away, but her body stayed taut, poised like she was ready for anything.

“Elijah and Wilson brought him,” Bette continued evenly, but there was a tightness in her voice she couldn’t mask. “This is Kamau. He’s connected to Chang. Deeply.”

Tina blinked, once, twice.
Connected to Chang.

”You’re telling me,” Tina said slowly, each word deliberate, ”that there’s a poacher from Chang’s network inside our quarantine shed. Right now. At the heart of the Foundation? Two, perhaps,” her eyes darting back to Elijah once more.

Her hand drifted unconsciously to the knife clipped at her belt, not pulling it, just feeling for its reassuring weight. It was a simple, sturdy blade, a gift from Bette months ago when the reality of living out here, with all its hidden dangers, had truly set in.

Bette had pressed it into her hand one evening by the fire, her voice low but firm: ”Just in case, T. Not because I think you’ll need it… but because I need to know you have it.”

Now, feeling the cool metal through the fabric, Tina felt that same quiet protection wrapping around her, a reminder of the unspoken bond between them, and of the strength Bette had always seen in her, even when she doubted herself.

Tina’s fingers lingered there for a moment longer before she dropped her hand to her side again, lifting her chin slightly as she faced the situation unfolding before her.

Wilson shifted slightly behind Elijah, sensing the rising storm in Tina’s voice, but he didn’t interrupt. He let Bette handle it, trusting her even in this fraught moment.

”We didn’t have much of a choice,” Bette said, a little softer now. ”He has information. Things we could use. To protect everyone here.”

Tina shook her head slowly, struggling against the instinct to slam the door shut and lock this chaos out. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest, breathing carefully.

”And you believe him?” she asked, searching for some assurance.

Bette didn’t answer immediately. She just held Tina’s gaze steadily, letting her see the hard truth she had already accepted: they couldn’t afford to turn away.

“We’re not trusting him,” Bette said at last. ”We’re using him. If what he knows can stop Chang… we have to listen.”

For a long moment, Tina said nothing. Then she nodded once, short and sharp, her jaw set.

”Fine,” she said, her voice clipped. She stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bette, anchoring herself to her.

She shot a hard glance at Kamau, still crouched on the floor and then at Elijah who she could sense was implicated as well.

”Then let’s hear what they have to say. And it better be good.”