Irene was laying her head against her desk, clacking her nails against the wood. She was exhausted from frequent training yet also bored out of her mind. Though training hours had increased, there was still a lull in the day when she wasn't quite sure how to occupy herself. Everyone usually took some in-between naps or quietly kept to her rooms, but Irene was growing antsy for some action. She sat up suddenly, figuring out a way to get some. 

While they trained, Cherie was usually upstairs in her office, making phone calls, going over strategy, writing emails, and so forth. Irene exited her bedroom and walked up the steps to the upper floor of the cabin, finding Cherie rummaging through cabinets.

"Cherie?" Irene called, peeking her head through the room.

"Not now, Irene. I'm busy trying to plan this operation and make sure it goes smoothly. Unless it's life-threatening, ask someone else," Cherie grumpily stated.

"You're forgetting that I know the layout of those headquarters well," Irene said, stepping into the room. From the moment Cherie had brought her back, a small plan had begun to form in Irene's mind, but in the business of integrating back into the cabin, Francesco's death, and some of the others' reluctance to trust her, Cherie had withheld asking her for any further information save for a few clarification instances.

Cherie's frequent rummaging began to slow. "And?"

"And I think I could be useful. There are some flaws to your plan. I noticed it when I was looking over the strategy," Irene stated.

Cherie lifted back up, staring at Irene curiously. "We have spies back the headquarters, you know. You're not so high and mighty."

"But they have to be vigilant. They can't disclose too much. If I'm not mistaken, I was one of your best spies, wasn't I?"

Cherie growled and took a seat back at her desk. "What information do you have that is valuable?"

"Can I see what map of the headquarters you have?" Irene asked, coming closer to the desk.

Cherie rummaged through a few more drawers before laying out a long map of the headquarters. Irene studied it closely. Most of the information was correct, save for a few buildings that had no names. She looked over it carefully, feeling Cherie's stare burning into her.

"And?"

"The coordinates for Lynch's location isn't correct," Irene stated as she stared at the map.

"They're only speculated. None of the spies have actually had the privilege of visiting him, which is probably a good thing," Cherie grumbled.

Irene grabbed a nearby pen, crossing out Lynch's supposed office.

"Luckily, I have been to his office multiple times," Irene said, circling a building north in the headquarters. His office was a place of malice, a place she did not like to remember. She remembered how her limbs used to tremble and her mouth grew parched and his eyes stared at her like they were looking into her soul.

"Irene? Is this correct?" Cherie asked. "The others placed his location as farther east."

"This is correct," Irene assured her. "That's his office, where he conducts most of his work."

"I tried asking Cassie once, but she didn't know the layout well enough, and she'd only managed to get into his office once," Cherie said, staring at the newly updated map. "What about his residence?"

"That was never disclosed to any of us. My best guess is that it's also in the building to throw off suspicion. That's what the rumors were anyway. He didn't like to bounce around the headquarters too much. I can fill in a few more buildings if you like," Irene said, watching Cherie nod. She wrote the names to some more buildings, recognizing her old residence building on the map. What were her parents thinking about her right now? Miguel? Lynch, himself? Did they think she was a traitor? Or that she just needed to escape?

"This is as updated as I can make it," Irene said, showing the map to Cherie.

"Thank you."

Irene turned, about to walk out the room, when Cherie called to her again.

"Can I ask you some more questions?" Cherie asked.

Irene turned and took a spare chair, bringing it up to Cherie's desk. Finally, she felt like she was back into spying again. She had forgotten how exhilarating it was to do this kind of work. When this was all over, perhaps Irene would be able to pick out a career for herself that had to do with strategy.

"How strong do you think his defenses are?" Cherie asked.

"They're stationed everywhere, especially by the gates and his building. The military building is in the middle of the headquarters, but they have weapons stored all around. Guards keep watch every few blocks or so. The military is one of the largest buildings. But I don't think it's larger than our army. They may have more weapons, but you were able to secure a lot of their weapons in the military base siege, right? That means you stand a chance," Irene explained.

Cherie sighed a little in relief.

"But...his silence is odd," Irene expressed. "I have no doubt he's planning something. I'm sorry. If I had stayed longer, I might have been able to get some more information about that sort of thing, but I snapped."

"You did more than enough," Cherie assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Irene grinned slightly. It felt comforting to be appreciated again.

"Do you have any idea what he could have planned?"

Irene shrugged. "Something with defenses, I'm guessing. I don't think they can really have a secret weapon without Cassie. She was always key to their plan. I wouldn't be worried about them extorting power from the Guardians just yet, not when they don't have a human-spirit to do their work for them."

Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

"Speaking of Cassie, you might want to alter your plans a bit," Irene stated.

"She's in the middle of the siege, completely safe, surrounded by her comrades, but I know they'll be after her," Cherie stated.

"If we start the siege without any notice, they'll shoot right away, all of us, including Cassie if they don't realize she's a part of the battle," Irene explained. "I think I should contact the Preservers to let them know that I'll be handing over Cassie on the fourteenth."

Cherie narrowed her eyes. "What kind of scheme--"

"I'm on your side, I swear!" Irene promised. "I can't guarantee they'll believe me, but it will allow us into the headquarters. The military might not be able to get in through the gates if Lynch's defenses are too strong, but if we get in first, we can help."

"That's a very hard bargain to place a bet on if they don't believe you."

"I know."

"What does this plan entail?" Cherie asked.

"The other spies are all still healthy and well, right?" Irene wondered.

"Yes. They know that you are safe with us."

"What about me? What do the Preservers think about me?" Irene asked.

"Some think you're a traitor, others think you cracked from the stress. I don't know what Lynch thinks. His silence continues to be overwhelming."

"As far as Lynch knows, the only reason I took off was because I attacked him after he groped me," Irene stated. "I don't think anyone could get away with what I did and not get thrown into prison."

"He...he did what?" Cherie asked.

"Oh, did I never mention that?" Irene wondered, the memory farther in the back of her mind but still vivid. "That's what was the final straw that convinced me to take off. I knew he had something bad planned for me if  I didn't."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Cherie said, her voice growing serious and somber.

"It's okay, because now we'll really get to show him some revenge. I hope I gave him a good taste of it that day," Irene stated. "My plan is this though. I contact the Preservers, some of my old coworkers, tell them that I'm sorry I left and have been quiet, but I have valuable information for Lynch. Whether the information gets to Lynch may or not may not happen, but I'll explain that I tried to continue proving my loyalty to him by managing to return to the others. I'll tell them that I have Cassie in my custody and that I intend to return her to the Preservers. I won't ask for security to be lowered or for anything suspicious."

"But they'll know we'll be coming," Cherie argued.

"Yes, but it gives us an advantage, I think. This whole cabin combined can easily knock out the security at one of the gates. I think we stand less of a chance if a bunch of military comes all at once and begins wreaking havoc on their defenses. They'll see the military coming and be more prepared, but for us, they'll only expect a small number of people."

"That's true," Cherie murmured. "I suppose it could work that way. I hadn't thought of it before. It could cost us though. Are you sure, Irene?"

"I think it's the best way to start the siege. After we enter, the military will come bustling through quickly, and one gate should hopefully already be weakened. Tell the others, ask what they think. We need to know sooner rather than later so I can give Lynch the heads up quickly. If I tell him the day before, he might grow suspicious. Plus, we need time to contact our allies and let them know. A few are gate guards, so they can help," Irene stated.

"I'll speak to the others about it. Thank you, Irene," Cherie stated.

"Of course," Irene said, ducking out of her office. A small smile was on her face at the thought of her helpfulness. She was about to head back to her bedroom when she heard a bit of noise coming from the cranny down the hall.

Cassie was sitting by the window, clutching her legs to her chest as she looked out at the snow. Though she was quiet, Irene could hear her sniffling quietly and only guessed that she was, or had been, crying. Irene carefully approached, knowing Cassie would much prefer someone like Marc or Lillian to comfort her, but Irene felt she owed it to her after Cassie had listened to her on Christmas night.

"Cassie?" Irene asked.

Cassie turned her head and rubbed her eyes. They were watery, just as Irene had expected.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't think anyone was walking around in the hallway," Cassie said, sniffing slightly as she turned her gaze back out the window.

"Are-are you okay?" Irene asked, slowly moving to sit down across from her.

"Yes, sorry. I've been really stressed lately, and it hasn't exactly put me in a good mental state," Cassie admitted.

Irene reached for some tissues on the desk behind her and passed them to her. Cassie said nothing but grabbed a few and blew her nose.

"I'm sorry you're stressed," Irene stated. "We all are, if it makes you feel any better. But you're a human-spirit, so I can only understand..."

"Oh, I knew that this was my fate when I agreed to be a spiritkeeper," Cassie stated. "But it came so fast. I also don't know what will happen to me. If I die, so be it, but I know my family will be upset, and Marc will be upset, and Elijah too..."

Irene frowned. It was common to think these things during life-threatening events. But Cassie's was multiplied. She had a loving family, a happy future in front of her. Elijah loved Cassie more than Irene, everyone in the cabin adored her, and if she survived this, she would be a hero.

Irene had no one. She was on bad terms with her son's father, her son only mildly accepted her, her parents were no doubt disappointed in her. Lillian had moved on. No one here cared for her after her betrayal. She supposed it would not be much of a loss if she died.

"It'll be okay," Irene said quietly, reaching forward to squeeze Cassie's hand. "Because if you die, you'll still be a hero. You'll still be honored. Any one of us who lives through this will gladly watch Elijah. I know Marc would be torn, but he could still live a happy life, I think. Your family is safe and will continue to be safe when this is over. I know these things are hard to think about..."

"I haven't been able to speak to anyone else about them," Cassie explained. "It's just been haunting me at night. I'm worried too that everyone will be so focused on protecting me that they might get harmed. I don't want anyone to die for me."

"I'm sorry, but that's going to happen regardless," Irene admitted. "Because we need you to help stop the Preservers with us. You're valuable to our side. We can't afford to lose you." Irene let go of Cassie's hand and stared out the window with her. "I'm stressed too, no matter how much I hide it. I'm glad Elijah will be safe, but I'm worried for all of you, and I don't want to return to that hellish place again. I don't want to see Lynch's face again."

"Don't you want revenge?" Cassie asked.

"I don't really know what I want," Irene admitted, now clutching her legs closer to her chest. "I thought I wanted a safe life with Miguel and my son but that fell through. Then I thought I could come back here and me and Lillian would...But I don't really know. I've never thought about the future that much. For you though, if you get through this, you have so many good things coming your way."

"Aren't you worried about yourself? What if you..."

"I don't think anyone needs me that much," Irene admitted.

"You shouldn't say that about yourself," Cassie warned. "You know that's not true."

"Maybe not, but I think it is. I don't think I'm that important."

Cassie turned to look at Irene, her eyes shining with vigor. "I would care if you died. I want you to know that. And not just because it would hurt Elijah, but because I care about you individually. You put yourself down a lot, and I'll admit I owe a lot of my suffering to you when I first became a spiritkeeper, but you've changed my mind. I think you have a lot of passion for what you do and could have a really prosperous life when this is all over."

Irene looked at Cassie, stunned. She'd never been told her life had value before. Everyone had always looked at her as if she should be squashed, as if her life would never amount to much of anything. But Cassie saw something inside Irene. Something Irene had never discovered herself.

"Thanks," Irene said, glancing away. "You're actually a good friend."

"You are too," Cassie said, reaching for Irene's hand again.

Irene stared down at their conjoined hands and smiled back at Cassie. They both faced the window and stared out at it in silence, admiring each other's company.