Jesper and Wylan creep across the drüskelle roof toward a gatehouse after Kaz's altered plan has forced the crew into deeper danger. Jesper feels exhilarated by the risk despite knowing he should worry about the job, his debts, and his father, and the quiet drüskelle sector makes every sound feel dangerous.

Through skylights, Jesper and Wylan see drüskelle training spaces and a dining hall decorated with a banner made from strips of Grisha battle kefta. The trophies unsettle Jesper and push Jesper to think about Jesper's own hidden Grisha power, Jesper's father's fear for him, and the alternate life Jesper might have had in Ravka's Second Army.

At the gatehouse, Jesper and Wylan spot one bored guard outside and expect more nearby. Jesper tells Wylan to stay back and begins rappelling down to ambush the guard, but two more guards emerge, leaving Jesper exposed and nearly caught.

Wylan intervenes by singing the Fjerdan national anthem while pretending to be drunk, distracting the guards long enough for Jesper to attack. Jesper kills one guard, disables the others with help from Wylan, and no additional soldiers appear. Jesper and Wylan drag the bodies out of sight, take two uniforms, bind and gag the surviving guards, and leave the unconscious men alive.

Disguised as guards, Jesper and Wylan enter the gatehouse and find the mechanism: a large winch connected by taut steel chains. Wylan realizes sabotaging the gate will require cutting metal rather than rope, which complicates their plan to trigger Black Protocol. As ten bells sound, Jesper prepares to weaken the links so Wylan can cut them, aware that the whole crew's plan still has countless ways to fail.