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Agnes and Nicole climb aboard a waiting schooner at night and are greeted by Captain Mishimengo, who quickly moves the ship out. He supplies a cover story—cod schooner under a Lebanese flag with grey-market deliveries—and instructs them to stay hidden in case of inspection. He provides tea and sandwiches and relays greetings from Ada, revealing his past connection with her.

Captain Mishimengo leads them into the hold, where they bed down in a metal box among freezers, enduring a strong fish smell and grimy sleeping bags. Nicole’s fresh GOD/LOVE tattoo aches, raising her worries about infection and the lack of medical help aboard.

Before dawn, heavy rocking wakes them as the schooner reaches the ocean swells. Agnes brings a thermos of tea and hard-boiled eggs from above, reporting that the waves are sizable though the captain considers them minor. Nicole, queasy and in pain, becomes irritable.

A tense exchange follows: Agnes objects to Nicole’s swearing, and Nicole vents about her damaged life. Agnes frames their mission as the salvation and renewal of Gilead, while Nicole insists the regime should be destroyed. The disagreement exposes their differing hopes—Agnes’s reformist patriotism versus Nicole’s urge to burn the system down.

Despite the clash, Nicole apologizes, affirms their bond as sisters, and Agnes accepts. In the darkness, with the ship rolling and danger near, they settle into uneasy resolve. Agnes concludes that the outcome is beyond their control, and they continue toward their uncertain destination.