The morning broke with an unusual stillness around the factory, the kind of quiet that made Mallory instinctively wary. As she stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the compound, she scanned the surroundings. The defenses they had worked so hard to build were holding strong, but something about the atmosphere felt off.
"Good morning, fearless leader," Alex greeted her as he approached with a tray of slightly charred toast. "Don't worry, this is totally edible. Probably."
"Thanks, Alex," Mallory said, accepting the toast. "Any strange activity last night?"
"Unless you count Greg snoring loud enough to scare off potential attackers, no," Alex replied, grinning.
Mallory smirked, but her unease didn't fade. "Let's gather the team. We need to plan today's next steps."
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