diff --git a/lab/test-resource-guard.nix b/lab/test-resource-guard.nix
index 3c09eb7..727ff75 100644
--- a/lab/test-resource-guard.nix
+++ b/lab/test-resource-guard.nix
@@ -215,7 +215,8 @@ in
     print("Sending SIGKILL to agent...")
     pid = client.succeed("pgrep -f 'lightscale-client.*agent.*guard' | head -1").strip()
     print(f"  Agent PID: {pid}")
-    client.succeed(f"kill -9 {pid}")
+    # Use execute to allow for race condition where process exits quickly
+    client.execute(f"kill -9 {pid} 2>/dev/null || true")
     time.sleep(3)
 
     # Verify the agent is dead