Bill Benson takes Ron by bus and on foot to an isolated lodge on Ministry of Defence land outside Fairhaven. Bill leads Ron through heavy security and into an ordinary-looking cellar that Ron realizes is only the access point to a much more secret site called the Compound.

Once they are alone, Bill explains that he worked for Holly Lewis as security at the Compound, alternating shifts with another former miner, Frank East. Bill says he has heard nothing from Holly or Nick Silver for days, and Ron tells Bill the situation: Nick is definitely missing, fake texts were sent from Nick’s phone, and Holly came to them for help before dying in a car explosion.

Ron presses Bill about what Holly and Nick were protecting. Bill confirms that Holly and Nick have a unit in the Compound, though he says he has never seen them open it in ten years. Bill also explains that he cannot access the vault alone: a client is required, along with retinal scans, thumbprints, and body scans, and the system is designed to prevent staff from entering or stealing independently.

Ron then thinks through the setup like a criminal and tests every possible weakness. Under Ron’s questioning, Bill eventually admits that if an existing client already knew the location, had both halves of Holly and Nick’s code, and bribed the right guard, then there might be nothing stopping that person from opening the box. That makes clear that Holly and Nick’s contents may still be in immediate danger.

Bill says he cannot take Ron into the Compound without a client, but he reveals one useful lead: he has an appointment in a couple of days with Lord Townes. Ron recognizes that as a significant coincidence. The chapter ends with Ron deciding that Holly and Nick’s box must be opened before someone else reaches it, and with Ron and Bill bonding over their shared mining past and stubborn refusal to give in, even when the odds are against them.