Page 41 of A Ballad of Blackbirds and Betrayal

“Thermal shows four heat signatures inside,” Cal replied.“One in the cockpit, three in the main cabin.Can’t distinguish friend from foe at this resolution.”

“We need to approach,” Nate decided, formulating a plan.He turned to Eden and said, “Circle to the rear access point.I’ll take the boarding stairs.Doc, maintain position here behind cover until we clear the aircraft.Maintain comms discipline and report any movement.”

Sabrina nodded, understanding this wasn’t the time to argue about positioning.Atticus was in there—possibly injured, possibly fighting for his life—and the bioweapon remained unsecured.The mission took priority over her pride.

“Copy that,” she replied, settling into her position with the focus she’d developed during her Navy service.“Be careful with the bioweapon container.If it’s compromised?—”

“We know,” Eden assured her.“Masks on before entry, no wild shots, secure the weapon first.”

Eden and Nate separated, each acknowledging their positions through comms as they moved toward their designated approach points.Sabrina maintained visual contact, her heart hammering against her ribs as she watched them close in on the aircraft.

The night air hung heavy with tension, the silence broken only by the steady hum of the aircraft’s engines and the distant wail of sirens that signaled the approach of the medical evacuation team.

Then chaos erupted once more.

A figure burst from the aircraft’s doorway, colliding with Nate halfway up the boarding stairs.The two men grappled briefly before tumbling down the steps together, landing hard on the tarmac.Nate recovered first, rolling to his feet with the agility of a trained fighter, but his opponent was equally skilled, already countering with a vicious strike that would have incapacitated a lesser opponent.

Gunfire erupted from inside the aircraft—sharp, staccato bursts that told Sabrina the fight had expanded beyond the tarmac.Eden or Atticus engaging the remaining hostiles, she couldn’t tell which.

Her medical instincts warred with tactical training as she remained in position.Every fiber of her being demanded she move closer, ready to provide assistance if needed, but she understood that becoming a liability now would only endanger the others.

The cockpit door of the Gulfstream flew open, and another figure emerged—a pilot, judging by the uniform, though the pistol in his hand suggested his duties extended beyond flying the aircraft.He took aim at the struggling figures on the tarmac, and without conscious thought, Sabrina raised her own weapon.

The shot echoed across the airfield, startling her despite having pulled the trigger herself.The pilot staggered, his weapon clattering to the ground as he clutched his shoulder.A flesh wound, her medical eye assessed automatically, sufficient to disable but not lethal.

Her moment of distraction cost her.A sharp crack from behind was her only warning before pain exploded across the back of her skull, driving her to her knees.Through suddenly blurred vision, she saw a dark figure looming over her—another of Mitchell’s security personnel, one they hadn’t accounted for.

“You’ve caused enough trouble,” he growled, raising his weapon for a killing shot.

The world narrowed to the barrel of his gun, time slowing to a nightmarish crawl as Sabrina stared death in the face.Her fingers scrabbled for her own weapon, but the blow to her head had left her disoriented, her movements clumsy and ineffective.

The crack of a single gunshot split the night.

The security operative’s expression morphed from cruel satisfaction to blank surprise before he crumpled to the ground beside her, a neat hole centered in his forehead.

Sabrina turned to see Atticus emerging from the side of the hangar, his weapon still raised, expression coldly lethal.Blood streaked one side of his face from a cut above his eye, and he moved with the slight stiffness that suggested injured ribs, but the steadiness of his aim never wavered.

“That’s the second time you’ve disobeyed a direct order,” he said, his voice low and controlled as he reached her side, helping her to her feet with his free hand.“Are you hurt?”

“Just my pride,” she replied, wincing as his fingers gently probed the back of her head, finding the lump where she’d been struck.“And maybe a mild concussion.You’re bleeding.”

“So are you.”

Their eyes met in the dim light, and something electric passed between them—relief, understanding, and an electric intensity that arced between their bodies.For a heartbeat, the chaos around them seemed to recede, leaving only this connection, this moment of recognition between two people who had faced death and emerged on the other side.

The moment shattered as Eden called out from the aircraft.“Reaper!We’ve secured the bioweapon, but you need to see this.”

Reality crashed back with brutal efficiency.Atticus’s hand dropped from her face, though he remained close, assessing her ability to stand on her own before moving toward the Gulfstream.

“Stay here,” he ordered, then paused, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly despite the tension.“Please.”

The unexpected courtesy startled a laugh from her, however brief.“Since you asked nicely.”

His eyes held hers for another beat before his expression shifted to resignation.“Who am I kidding?You need to see the bioweapon.Come on, but stay close.”

“That was my plan all along,” she replied, appreciating his pragmatism.

They moved toward the aircraft together, approaching just as Nate emerged from the shadows with a subdued prisoner.The man’s hands were secured behind his back with zip ties, his expression one of cold defiance despite his circumstances.

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