At 11:15 p.m., Tony Stackhouse sat in Julia Sigsby’s office with the Zero Phone, reflecting that the Institute would be abandoned by tomorrow regardless of the outcome with Luke Ellis. He decided the key objectives were securing Luke’s flash drive and ensuring Luke’s death; rescuing Julia Sigsby would be secondary.

Stackhouse observed that abandonment had effectively begun. He noted departing staff cars on the road toward Dennison River Bend and beyond. He retained a core team he trusted: Zeke, Chad, Chef Doug (with Halliburton experience), Dr. Felicia Richardson (from Hawk Security Group), and anticipated Gladys Hickson would also stay, whom he increasingly judged to be psychopathic. He acknowledged the personal risk of remaining but believed he would be hunted if he fled.

Rosalind Dawson, Sigsby’s assistant, entered looking disheveled and reported that Dr. Hendricks had likely left. She asked about the persistent humming noise, which Stackhouse attributed, euphemistically, to a “transformer,” and she inferred the children were responsible. Rosalind sought confirmation that Julia would return and indicated she wanted to stay.

Revealing unexpected capability, Rosalind said she regularly practiced at a local shooting range and held a shooting club equivalent of a Distinguished Marksman badge, having won a small handgun competition. She carried a Smith & Wesson M&P .45 and managed recoil with a wrist support. She requested to join any operation to free Sigsby.

Stackhouse accepted Rosalind’s offer, stating he needed all possible help, while internally maintaining that Sigsby was expendable compared to the flash drive and eliminating Luke. He then asked Rosalind’s age; she replied “seventy-eight,” though the narration clarified she was actually eighty-one.