Page 53 of Close Protection

"And I'm a professional who uncovered their entire operation, including this infrastructure plan nobody else has detected." Ivy didn't retreat. "You're underestimating what I bring to this fight. The longer we wait, the more entrenched these strategic properties become."

Julia moved away, resuming her circuit of the apartment, checking locks she'd already secured. Her shoulders carried tension that hadn't been there before Harper's betrayal.

"My job is to keep you alive." The words emerged automatic, rehearsed, a mantra rather than engagement.

"Your job," Ivy countered, "is to ensure I testify effectively, which means stopping this infrastructure plan before it renders my testimony meaningless. That happens faster if we accelerate events rather than waiting for Knox to find us while he secures his position."

Julia turned, something dangerous flickering in her eyes. "And how exactly would you propose we 'accelerate events'?"

The question wasn't agreement, but it was engagement. Ivy seized the opening.

"We use my evidence as bait." Shegestured toward her files. "Start releasing select pieces strategically. Information that damages Knox's infrastructure acquisition but doesn't compromise the core financial case."

"You want to antagonize him deliberately." Julia's tone made it an accusation.

"I want to destabilize his entire operation." Ivy moved to the evidence wall, tapping key documents in sequence. "Knox's infrastructure plan depends on appearing legitimate. His investors, his political connections, his property acquisitions—all require maintaining a respectable facade."

She grabbed a diagram showing the property network. "We start releasing evidence of these infrastructure-adjacent properties. Show how they connect to Knox's shell companies. Force his legitimate investors to distance themselves. Create regulatory scrutiny that prevents him from gaining full control of these strategic locations."

"And paint an even bigger target on your back." Julia crossed her arms. "He'd accelerate efforts to eliminate you."

"He's already committed those resources," Ivy countered. "But right now, hispeople are hunting methodically, following protocols. If we disrupt his infrastructure plan, those methodical hunters become desperate scrambling."

Julia's eyes narrowed. "Desperate is more dangerous, not less."

"Desperate is predictable." Ivy tapped the map again. "When pressure hits, Knox follows patterns. His psychological profile is consistent across years of operations. When threatened, he retreats to specific properties and consolidates resources."

She pointed to a cluster of red circles on the eastern edge of the city. "Like these holdings near the Red Ridge water treatment facility. That's where he'll go when pressed—his most secure location, near his most valuable infrastructure target."

Realization dawned in Julia's expression. "You're not just talking about destabilizing his organization. You're talking about flushing him out personally while disrupting his infrastructure control."

"Exactly." Ivy's smile held the sharp edge of satisfaction. "He uses intimidation as a weapon. But two can play that game."

Julia moved closer to the evidence wall tostudy the pattern Ivy had identified—the strategic positioning of properties around critical facilities, the staged acquisition timeline, the psychological profile embedded in operational decisions.

"A cornered predator is unpredictable," she said.

"Only if the corner is unexpected." Ivy reached for her laptop. "I know exactly how Knox will respond to specific triggers. He believes himself untouchable because he's never faced an opponent who understood his entire system—including his infrastructure leverage plan."

The morning light streamed through the window, illuminating dust motes between them as Julia considered the strategy. Her training demanded protective containment, but instinct recognized the merit in Ivy's approach.

"The department leak complicates things," she finally said. "Any digital communication risks interception."

Not a yes. Not yet. But the door was opening.

"We don't use department channels." Ivy's fingers drummed against her laptop. "We use the secure connections at Lavender's—completely outside official networks."

"You've thought this through."

"Pattern analysis is what I do." Ivy held Julia's gaze. "The same way tactical response is what you do."

The comparison wasn't flattery but recognition—professional respect bridging the chasm their personal entanglement had created. Something shifted in Julia's posture, the rigid protector briefly yielding to the strategic partner.

"It's high risk," Julia said, moving to the kitchen counter where her service weapon lay disassembled from morning cleaning.

"Lower risk than waiting for them to find us while Knox secures his infrastructure control." Ivy watched Julia's hands reassemble the gun with mechanical precision. "And higher probability of mission success."

Julia's fingers stilled on the weapon. "Mission success."

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