Fin didn't answer immediately. Grand design? His only design was to stop being hunted, to protect Meg, to carve out a space where they could be safe. If that meant dismantling the Association brick by brick, so be it. If it meant confronting Kings… he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"They started it," he said finally, the words simple, cold.
Lyra nodded slowly. "They often do. Power abhors a vacuum, and new power is always seen as a threat by the established. The Association, for all its talk of order, is merely another player seeking to maintain its dominance." She took a small, deliberate step closer. "But Valerius is not Arclight. The Spire is the heart of their network. They will defend it fiercely. Director Gabriel is not a man to be trifled with, and he has… resources."
"I'm aware," Fin said. Mara's fear had been genuine. Gabriel, Unit 7… he wasn't underestimating the opposition.
