Wren reports to handler Declan before her first Silver Elite war room briefing. Cross outlines the unit as sixteen strong, with most veterans in the field, and introduces a primary target: Jasper Reed, a handsome, well-connected smuggler running drugs and siphoning medical supplies from Company facilities to trade with the Faithful. Cross assigns Ara Zebb and Kess Farren to work with Tyler Struck in the wards to find a drug lab, Ford takes Wren and Kaine Sutler to Ward C to locate stolen medical supplies, and Cross assigns Anson and Jones to accompany him on a separate operation in Hamlett, where surveillance has focused after Julian Ash surfaced and an Uprising cell is suspected.

Wren asks to be assigned to Hamlett, her home, but Cross refuses due to her personal ties and reiterates need-to-know compartmentalization. After the briefing, Wren confronts Cross about Hamlett and realizes Elite has monitored the ward for six months, predating recent events. Travis Redden, Cross’s older brother and a colonel, briefly appears; Cross praises Wren in front of him and confirms Roe Redden did not make Elite. Wren informs Declan about the Reed mission and the Hamlett op and tries to warn Griff and Tana, but Declan forbids her from alerting anyone directly; Wren decides to contact Tana anyway.

Days later in Ward C, Wren and Kaine grow frustrated with low-yield legwork while reviewing Reed’s dossier and discussing the Faithful. An informant points them to a small hospital suspected of moving Reed’s contraband. Ford, Wren, and Kaine infiltrate the basement from different access points to find the stash.

Wren hears voices behind a door and enters a ward filled with gray-gowned patients. She finds around twenty Modifieds displaying erratic, flickering silver veins and incoherent behavior—fragmented minds unable to cope with their gifts. The sight terrifies Wren, who recalls warnings that some telepaths break under the strain. She notices a freezer stocked with blood and vials, inferring experimentation or exploitation of the patients, while Ford insists it is outside their mission.

A distressed patient scratches Wren before orderlies force Wren and Kaine out, asserting they do not belong. Shaken, Wren, Kaine, and Ford locate the supply room tied to Reed; Ford calls Gold Block to seize and secure it. En route to the airfield, Wren reports the fragmented ward to Adrienne, who already knows such facilities exist and cautions Wren to remain a controlled asset. Adrienne mentions stalled efforts to investigate Julian’s execution and rumors of an inciter at the scene; Wren denies seeing one and privately asserts it was not her. Adrienne reveals the Uprising keeps records of inciters and that Julian documented Wren’s abilities when she manifested at twelve.

During takeoff, Ford receives a call and orders the pilot to divert to Ward Z at Cross’s request. Wren realizes they are being sent to Hamlett as backup, putting her directly into the op she had been excluded from.