James leaves the underground gym before dawn and takes a security-heavy elevator ride through New Republic HQ, reflecting on the facility’s Omega Point roots, the post-revolution push for practical trades, and his preference for low-tech tools after his Ark experience.

He passes bustling labs and an engineer named Jeff, then arrives at the top-floor residence he shares with Warner. Warner, fully composed and dressed, drinks black coffee amidst a stack of files and a tablet. James immediately asks about Juliette; Warner says Juliette needed him but is okay, and declines to elaborate.

Warner tells James that Rosabelle asked Sonya and Sara whether James shares Rosabelle’s powers and if he can heal others as well as himself. The twins did not answer. The news rattles James, who privately wrestles with guilt and dread about his assignment to gain Rosabelle’s trust to extract information, remembering her breakdown while trying to eat and his own trauma at her hands.

James probes Warner’s research pile and guesses it concerns Rosabelle. Warner confirms he is doing reconnaissance but refuses to brief James, citing security clearance, and notes he already left two prep binders on James’s desk. James admits he hasn’t read them, prompting Warner to admonish him to take the job seriously if he wants to be treated like an adult.

As James prepares to leave, Warner dispenses practical instructions—shower, shave properly, and do not “mess this up”—while James deflects with humor. The exchange highlights Warner’s focus and authority and James’s mix of anxiety, resistance, and resolve on the morning he is to begin Rosabelle’s rehabilitation sponsorship.