Cross Redden enters the bar in full uniform, immediately commanding the room’s attention. Shenise Nelson initially suspects Wren (as Gilly) of calling Command, but Pasha reassures Wren that Command officers are regular customers and that Cross comes to “blow off steam.” Wren continues her cover, offering the referral story from a former worker named Olive and pleading for work due to low pay and no allies in the city.

After a brief aside with Pasha, Shenise returns to say that Cross wants Wren to keep him company, framing it as a “job interview.” Under Shenise’s observation, Wren approaches Cross and, at his insistence, sits on his lap as soldiers nearby recognize him as “Captain Redden.” Cross confirms he is General Merrick Redden’s son and then quietly disables their comm feed, privately telling Wren, “You make a very good whore, Dove,” signaling both control and familiarity outside the op’s recording.

Maintaining her Gilly persona, Wren spars verbally with Cross about his supposed patronage and about her past, including teasing she received over her eye color and a childhood fight. Wren tries to draw Cross out about his family; he offers little, calling Roe “a little shit,” describing Travis as “very driven,” and shutting down further personal questions as “trivial.”

Cross reactivates the comm and escalates the physical intimacy by kissing Wren’s neck under cover of the operation. He then instructs her, on-comm, to push him off, claim she is not ready for the work, and leave. Torn between desire and duty, Wren complies, shoving him away, apologizing to Shenise, and exiting the bar to the waiting car.

Unsure whether the objective was met but still shaken by the encounter, Wren receives an order in her earpiece from Cross to report to his office for a debrief, closing the op.