Vera's words left Charlie silent for a long while, but he knew she was being as objective as she was pragmatic.

If they managed to win twice—first with a raid, and now, with misdirection—Fleur would never let his victories go unanswered a third time.

That meant if he tried to raid yet another dead soldier base, he wasn't going to be taking them with him, which meant he needed to make a choice: massacre every last living being the next time he attacked a Qing Eliminating Society safehouse, or s