Winter hopes that she doesn't end up regretting this decision. She regrets too many things already, these days.
Allowing Weiss' friends to enter the Grimm in order to search for their missing friend was far from a strategic choice; Winter can admit that—to herself, anyway, at least. After all, it didn't matter what the layout was inside when they were just going to deploy a bomb and destroy the entire thing. But the way they'd looked at her, pleaded with her—it had reminded her of Penny.
She's becoming too sentimental these days, that much is clear. Maybe the choice she'd made had been the one Penny—and her sister—would have wanted her to take, but that didn't make it a good decision. All it had really done is introduce more complications into an already fraught situation. If they don't make it out in time, then they'll be forced to blow up Salem's stronghold with Weiss' friends still inside.
Winter doubts that her and Weiss' relationship will survive that happening. Her sister had never been as pragmatic about things as Winter has. Not that Winter herself would feel particularly great about doing something like that. But sometimes, the world doesn't prevent you with any good options, and yet you're forced to choose between them anyway.
And that's not even the full extent of her worries, either. It's already more than clear that if anything goes wrong on this mission, the blame for it will all land squarely on Winter's shoulders. There's no way that any of the remaining Ace Ops—least of all Harriet—are going to cover for her in the case of disaster.
Not that she expects them to. Winter is aware that it's her choices that are playing a large role in the outcome of this operation, and she's not one to shy away from that. She's not her father, after all. Whatever consequences may come of this, she'll be the one to accept them.
So she forces herself to stand firm as she rallies the troops, explaining the plan and checking to make sure that everything is in place for detonation. This operation has a lot of moving parts, after all, and it wouldn't do for anything to be out of place. She refuses to let the mission fall apart out of carelessness.
Much easier to think about the task on hand than to think about what might be happening to her sister—and Penny.
In the case of Weiss, Winter can at least hope that no news is good news, as foolish as that makes her feel to have to rely on. Weiss is smart, and Winter trusts her sister to take care of herself, even if it puts the two of them at odds.
Penny, however, is a different story. Somehow, the girl has managed to become the closest thing that Winter has ever had to a friend. And although Ironwood had marked both her sister and Penny as fugitives wanted by Atlas, she knows that his pursuit of Penny is far more aggressive than his search for Weiss. And the last update she'd had on Penny had been far from reassuring.
Not to mention that all of this was happening because Penny had taken on the power of the Winter Maiden in order to save Winter's life. That was—something that Winter wasn't sure how she should take. As much as it had been a blow to have the destiny that she'd been preparing herself for ripped away right in front of her, she can't exactly fault Penny for something like that.
Even if it goes against everything that Winter herself stands for.
Still, she's at least diverted the search for Penny for a bit. Hopefully, that will be enough to buy her friend some time to regroup and get herself to safety. It's the best Winter can do for her right now.
Not for the first time, Winter finds herself wishing that she'd been given more time to recover before venturing out into the field again—but there'd been no time. Ironwood had needed all hands on deck, and she isn't about to let him down now even if she's stiff and sore and drained, and her body feels like one enormous bruise. Regardless of her injuries, she will not fail her duty.
So even as Marrow pesters her with questions—the same ones she's been shying away from this entire time—she refuses to back down. They're making their final preparations already. The point of no return is well behind them now.
Please, she finds herself thinking, a plea to anyone who might be out there listening. Please let them make it out in time. Please let Weiss and Penny be okay. Please don't let this all end in disaster.
A foolish thing to hope for when, for all she knows, they've already tipped over the brink anyway. There's certainly no coming back from whatever happens next.