Miranda discovers the Board runs a protection racket for criminals. 146 of 217 kills served criminal interests. Operatives die in coordinated strikes. Viktor Volkov revealed as primary financier.
Wild Flowers receives first Board mission: extract intelligence broker Dmitri Volkov in Berlin. Nightshade begins her encrypted ledger, mapping Board structure from the inside.
The Board exploits a contract loophole to eliminate former Wild Flowers operatives. Nightshade orchestrates warnings through deniable channels, saving eleven of twenty-three targets. Lily is exposed as the Board's insider when she rambles about reporting while recovering from concussion.
Nightshade negotiates with Commander Lassiter at a neutral estate, reaching a compromise: Wild Flowers becomes an official Board asset with limited autonomy, Dr. Chen serving as liaison between organizations, and Victoria's file maintained as a deadman's switch for mutual destruction.
The extraction team returns with Miranda, who reveals Wild Flowers was created by the Board thirty years ago—they've always been the Board's weapon without knowing it.
At the secondary safe house, Hunt offers transportation and local support to extract Miranda Walsh from Portugal before the Board eliminates her. Miranda has been investigating Board operations for eight months and holds critical intelligence.
Board launches coordinated assault on compound. Nightshade treats the attack as intelligence-gathering opportunity, ordering Orchid to mirror tactical frequencies and studying Board assault doctrine.
Sage spirals into emotional numbness after Victoria conditioning in Colombia. During the planned escape attempt to trap the Gardener, Dr. Melissa Chen is caught attempting to access the encrypted file with a USB device and EMP generator to destroy it.
Alexei history unfolds through memory and Victoria letter: three deaths in his past (FSB recruitment at seventeen, official termination, Prague extraction). Victoria letter warns him to identify the internal traitor who must be turned rather than killed.
A resurrected Alexei Volkov arrives at the compound, having been extracted and hidden by Victoria months before his supposed death in Moscow. His arrival triggers suspicion and paranoia, especially from Sage.
Nightshade inherits Wild Flowers leadership after Victoria death. Facing ninety-day Board ultimatum, she studies Victoria intelligence but identifies a fatal flaw in the exposure plan.
Covington arrives by helicopter with personal security team. Full assault on the island as defenders hold prepared positions. Nightshade circles behind Covington and confronts him directly.
