Page 24 of A Ballad of Blackbirds and Betrayal

Max coordinated with agents on video feeds in multiple languages, his massive frame somehow appearing larger in the blue-tinged light of the monitors.Unlike the others who carried tension in their shoulders or hands, Max’s anxiety manifested in his constant movement—shifting from foot to foot, rolling his massive shoulders, cracking his neck at regular intervals.

And at the center of it all, Atticus.

He stood with his back to her, issuing directives in the clipped, authoritative tone of someone who expected immediate compliance.His jacket was gone, shirtsleeves rolled to the elbows, exposing forearms corded with muscle.The Rolex on his left wrist caught the light as he gestured toward a security feed, and Sabrina noticed the small, almost imperceptible tremor in his right hand—a microsecond of vulnerability before his fingers curled into a fist, steadying themselves through sheer force of will.

Despite everything, Sabrina found her gaze lingering on the strong line of his shoulders, the memory of his body against hers still electric beneath her skin.

“Anna’s detail confirms secure perimeter,” he was saying into his headset, rubbing absently at the scar along his jawline—a tell she’d noticed whenever his daughter was mentioned.“I want hourly check-ins and real-time tracking.No excuses.”

He turned, sensing her presence with that uncanny awareness he seemed to possess.Their eyes locked across the room—acknowledgment of danger, shared purpose, and beneath it all, the undeniable current that neither of them was prepared to name.

“Sabrina,” he acknowledged with a nod.His gaze traveled over her, noting the rumpled blouse, the fatigue shadowing her eyes, the tension in her shoulders.For a moment, something softened in his expression—concern, perhaps—before the professional mask slipped back into place.“Jade will get you settled.We’re mobilizing every resource we have.”

“Flash drive’s encrypted,” Cal announced, breaking the moment.He reached for his energy drink.“Military-grade protocols.Not impossible, just time consuming.”

“How much time?”Atticus asked, moving toward Cal’s station.He rolled his shoulders, the only outward sign of the tension coiled inside him, and Sabrina caught herself mimicking the movement to ease her own stiffness.

“Four hours, minimum.Unless…” Cal’s hands stilled over the keyboard.“Actually, three minutes.”He flashed a grim smile at Sabrina, revealing the small gap between his front teeth that softened his otherwise sharp features.“Hospital systems use similar encryption protocols for patient data protection, don’t they, Doc?”

“They do,” she confirmed, stepping forward, the familiar territory of medical systems providing momentary comfort in the surreal situation.“And Dr.Cho would know that.”

“Meaning the key might be something medically relevant.”Cal nodded, fingers already flying.“Something you’d recognize.”

Sabrina leaned over his shoulder, studying the encryption prompt.“Try BlackbirdHG1918.”

Cal’s eyebrows shot up.“Specific guess.”

“Blackbird was the project name.HG refers to hemorrhagic, and 1918 was the year of the Spanish flu pandemic—one of the deadliest in human history.”

Cal entered the code.The screen flashed green, files unlocking in rapid succession.“Smart.Very smart.”He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, leaving it standing in haphazard spikes that gave him a startled, owlish appearance.

“Dr.Wells has an impressive background,” Atticus said, and something in his tone made Sabrina glance up to find his dark eyes studying her with that disconcerting intensity.She felt heat rise to her cheeks and mentally cursed her fair complexion that had always betrayed her emotions so readily.

“Is Evangeline monitoring this?”Eden asked Cal, leaning against his workstation.

“From home,” Cal confirmed, his expression softening momentarily as he glanced at the wedding band on his left hand.“Eight months pregnant and miserable in this August heat, but still working.She’s running parallel decryption on the file structure.”He turned to his open laptop, where a video feed showed a woman with reddish-gold hair pulled back in a messy bun, typing furiously, her rounded belly clearly visible beneath an oversized Dynamis T-shirt.

“She should be resting,” Jade commented, the corner of her mouth twitching in a rare show of humor.

“Try telling her that,” Cal replied with a snort.“I suggested she take maternity leave last week.She reconfigured my security clearance to lock me out of my own systems for three hours to demonstrate what happens when she’s not working.”

Despite everything, Sabrina felt her lips curve upward.The brief glimpse into the personal lives of these people—their connections, their partnerships, their very human quirks—humanized them in ways that made the lethal skills they possessed all the more remarkable.

“Gentlemen,” Atticus said, turning to the two men Sabrina hadn’t met.He reached for the coffee mug on the nearest surface and took a long sip, grimacing slightly at what must have been stone-cold liquid.“Status.”

The silver-haired man straightened, adjusting the cuffs of his immaculate shirt with a fastidiousness that seemed at odds with the crisis unfolding around them.“All field teams recalled and positioned.Satellite surveillance online and monitoring Mitchell’s known locations.”

“Air support?”Atticus asked, absently wiping a coffee drop from his wrist with the handkerchief he always seemed to have handy—a small, old-fashioned detail that Sabrina found unexpectedly endearing.

“Two choppers ready, pilots on standby,” the man confirmed in his British accent.“Gear prepped for full tactical engagement.”

“Griffin specializes in extraction and air operations,” Nate explained to Sabrina, his hand resting on Eden’s shoulder in a casual display of connection that spoke volumes about their relationship.Small, jagged scars crisscrossed his knuckles—the marks of someone who’d fought his way out of more situations than could be counted.“Former British SAS.Call sign Merlin.If you need to get in or out of somewhere impossible, he’s your man.”

Griffin nodded to her with professional courtesy.“Dr.Wells.Welcome to the madhouse.”He absently straightened a pen on the desk beside him, aligning it perfectly perpendicular to the edge—another hint of the precise, ordered mind beneath the calm exterior.

The darker man stepped forward, features sharp and hawkish beneath desert-tanned skin.Unlike the others in tactical gear or business attire, he wore a simple gray henley and cargo pants, with well-worn hiking boots that had seen countless miles.A thin silver chain with a small Star of David pendant was barely visible at his neck, his fingers occasionally touching it as if for reassurance.

“Perimeter security at the demonstration site is extensive but manageable,” he reported, his voice carrying the musical lilt of his Middle Eastern origins.“Three access points with potential for covert entry.”

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