In the tunnels, James and Rosabelle reach a dead end with a ladder leading to an exit door. James, tense and largely silent until now, says he must cut Rosabelle’s restraints so she can climb, warning that he will reapply them at the top and will kill her if she tries to run. He cuts the ties, keeps physical control, then releases her to climb.

Rosabelle hesitates and asks to turn around; James refuses but tells her to speak. She instead asks him to let her go back to the Ark. James is incredulous and angry, accusing her of wanting to return to abusers and questioning whether she thinks she can simply ask to be sent home after everything.

Rosabelle insists it is not what he thinks and says she must fix things but cannot explain. Internally, she commits to eliminating Klaus to save Clara, outlining a plan: return within eight weeks, retrieve the vial, access Klaus’s tank, ingest the earth, and use her decomposing body to trigger an explosion inside Klaus’s synthetic mind, hoping to prevent further attacks like Leon’s. She withholds this from James because she does not want interference.

James presses her to explain and to trust him. Rosabelle admits she is not used to working with others and doubts his team, but when James asks directly if she trusts him, she says yes. James grows intent, promising they can fix things together if she trusts him. Rosabelle counters that infiltrating the Ark is uniquely difficult due to its unparalleled technology and surveillance.

As she starts to reference his past escape from the island, James suddenly reacts, swearing and grabbing Rosabelle. He spins her away from the ladder and pins her against the wall with his back to her, shielding her. Rosabelle then sees the red line of a sniper’s laser targeting them.