Thea enters the apartment, having been patched up after her fight with Isako. Martim states that he didn’t hire the shadowcons and that Thea acted without his knowledge to protect him, panicking and going further than he would have permitted. 

Isako states that her contract to stop Uchi from joining the Board is still active, which now obligates her to stop Martim. Martim expresses deep grief over his client’s death, explaining his loyalty to Uchi and accusing Isako of killing the real Uchi with a gun. He believes that continuing the impersonation is the only way for him and Thea to survive. However, overwhelmed by the deception and facing two legendary contractors, he admits that he’s tired of lying and knows he’s beaten. 

Isako is tormented, caught between her duty to the atier Code and her refusal to be responsible for her former apprentice’s death. She realizes that she cannot follow her contract to its grim conclusion.

Kob proposes a plan: Martim will proceed with the Board confirmation hearing and then secretly ally with Isako’s client, Savannah Minto. By revealing his true identity and Uchi’s crimes, Martim can give Minto the leverage she needs to control his vote regarding the Great Silence. 

Thea indicates that the news reports officially blame United Freelancers for the clinic attack, that Uchi’s original body was removed before anyone could examine it, and that a divisional statement declared that Uchi escaped unharmed. Martim struggles with the idea of betraying his former client’s terraformist cause, but Thea pledges her loyalty to him as her only remaining client. Kob reminds Martim that, with his client dead, he’s free from his orders and must make his own choices. Kob asks Isako if she’s in, and she agrees: The plan is their best way to fulfill her contract while keeping Martim and Thea alive.

Back at Kob’s apartment, Isako helps him through a painful episode caused by his Gray’s Waste. She then calls Minto and arranges a secret meeting between her and “Uchi” after his confirmation hearing, recording Minto’s promise to guarantee Martim’s safety. 

After the call, Isako confronts Kob, having realized that he was the contractor hired to eliminate the survivors of the Field 93 disaster. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Waterboy, who is furious that Uchi is still alive. Waterboy threatens Isako. Kob takes the phone and addresses Waterboy by his real name, Elk Terrence. He uses his knowledge from their past encounter to intimidate him into backing down.

On the day of Uchi’s Board confirmation hearing, Isako spots Marsh Elias and fears that he has been sent to terminate the now-badgeless Kob. To get Martim past the large crowds of protestors, Kob disguises himself as Uchi and creates a decoy, exiting through the front doors. 

As Isako, Martim, and Thea escape through a back exit toward the car Minto sent, they’re ambushed by an assassin on a motorcycle. Isako engages the assassin and eventually kills him. During the struggle, a single, loud rifle shot rings out. Martim is struck in the head by the long-range shot and killed instantly. Isako looks up and sees the figure of the gunman disappearing from a nearby rooftop.

Enraged, Isako storms the Agency headquarters and confronts Partner Constance, demanding to know why Marsh Elias assassinated Martim. Constance reveals the truth: The Agency had placed a listening device in Isako’s badge and monitored her entire investigation. The Partners ordered Martim’s assassination to prevent the precedent of a contractor illegally impersonating a director on the Board, to control the vote on the Great Silence, and to ultimately protect the Agency’s power. 

Constance then reveals a secret that shocks Isako: The Great Silence has been a lie for two centuries. The Board of Directors has known about signals from Earth and has voted every 50 years to maintain secrecy, suppressing the truth from the public. Constance also notes that United Freelancers will be blamed for Martim’s death and that Cityhab Security has requested 3,000 additional general contractors to fortify Tenacity. It’s one of the largest contracts in recent Agency record. 

Constance offers Isako a future as a Partner, but Isako, completely disillusioned, rejects the offer and leaves.

Isako meets with Savannah Minto for a final time. Minto, unaware of the Agency’s involvement in the conspiracy, now believes that Isako brilliantly orchestrated Uchi’s death by manipulating United Freelancers to do her bidding. Isako allows her to believe this false narrative, thereby protecting the secret of Martim’s identity and the Agency’s conspiracy. With her objective achieved, Minto declares Isako’s contract fulfilled. 

Minto offers Isako a Principal contract to become her new permanent atier, but Isako refuses. Minto then provides the official resignation papers. Isako raises her hand to the biosignature box but ultimately refuses to sign it, stating that she’s not quite ready yet. Isako then declares that she will take no further contracts, choosing instead to become a ronin. Having finished her last job, she walks out of SatOps headquarters and calls her daughter, Maya, to make plans for lunch.

Weeks later, Isako encounters Fern Madison, Uchi’s ex-wife, who has legally reclaimed the synthbody that Thea inhabited. Madison informs Isako that Thea tried to flee but made it only as far as Mount Hanji before surrendering. 

Isako has begun a new life as a ronin alongside Kob, who helps her navigate the world of freelancers. They meet at the airshield gate, and he brings her fresh cinnamon bread. Together, they visit the Mother in Chains statue, a memorial for those who have entered the Vastness, and speak to the memories of Loren and Martim. From a distance, the Agency gunman Marsh Elias watches them. Unafraid, Isako and Kob turn their backs on the Vastness and walk into the city together, ready to face their uncertain future as partners.