Page 45 of A Ballad of Blackbirds and Betrayal

“Bingo.Ownership traces back through three shell corporations to a foundation chaired by Mitchell’s wife.It’s the demonstration site.Satellite imagery shows a compound with a central building and what appears to be an observation platform.Multiple vehicles arriving within the last hour.”

“The buyers,” Eden said grimly.“They must be proceeding with the demonstration.”

“Without the primary sample,” Sabrina pointed out, holding up the contained bioweapon.

“Mitchell wouldn’t risk everything on one sample,” Atticus said.“A man like that always has contingencies.The question is whether their backup samples are as refined as this one.”

“Only one way to find out,” Nate said, checking his weapon.“We need to hit the demonstration site before Reynolds and his team can deploy whatever they have left.”

Atticus nodded, decision made.“Cyph, have Merlin prepped for aerial insertion.I want a full tactical team ready for deployment in fifteen minutes.Send the coordinates directly to our tactical systems.”

“Copy that,” Cal confirmed.“What about you?”

“We’re heading there now,” Atticus replied.“Ground approach, maximum stealth.Have the aerosol countermeasure ready for deployment if necessary.”

Sabrina felt a surge of pride at his reference to her creation—the untested, theoretical solution that might be their only defense if Mitchell’s remaining bioweapon samples were deployed at the demonstration site.

Atticus surveyed the burning wreckage, then turned to his team.“Eden, secure the bioweapon sample at Dynamis.We need it safely contained and analyzed further.”

Eden nodded, accepting the container from Sabrina.

“Warlock,” Atticus continued, “coordinate with Merlin’s aerial team.I want comprehensive coverage of that demonstration site before we move in.”

“Copy that,” Nate replied, already on his comm to Griffin.

Atticus turned to Sabrina, his expression professional but no longer dismissive.“Doc, you’re with me.Your expertise on the bioweapon will be critical if they’re planning to deploy at the demonstration site.But understand this—in the field, my orders aren’t suggestions.If you can’t follow them, you stay behind.Lives depend on it.”

Sabrina met his gaze unflinchingly.“Understood.I’m not here to undermine your authority.I’m here because people will die if that weapon deploys without a countermeasure ready.”

Something shifted in his expression—acknowledgment of her capabilities mixed with the burden of command responsibility.“Then gear up.We move in five minutes.I’ll need everything you know about this weapon’s deployment requirements and vulnerabilities on the drive over.”

“Already compiling a list,” she replied, professional to professional.

Eden accepted the container with reverent care, aware of both its scientific value and its lethal potential.“I’ll make sure Cypher’s team has what they need to synthesize more countermeasure.”

“Time’s wasting,” Nate pointed out, already moving toward their remaining vehicle.“Mitchell’s security team has at least a thirty-minute head start on setting up the demonstration.”

Sabrina checked her watch.Less than forty minutes until Mitchell’s scheduled demonstration.The race was on, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

In the back seat of the SUV, she found herself beside Atticus, the narrow space forcing them closer than was professionally necessary.The adrenaline of the day’s events still coursed through her veins, heightening every sensation—the warmth of his arm pressed against hers, the faint scent of smoke clinging to both their clothing, the measured rhythm of his breathing despite the tension evident in his posture.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, her voice pitched low enough that only he could hear.

He glanced at her, surprise evident in his expression.“For what?”

“Trusting me,” she replied simply.“With the bioweapon extraction.With your team.With this mission.”

Something shifted in his gaze, the professional mask slipping just enough to reveal the man beneath—the man who’d promised later with a look that made her heart race, who’d shielded her body with his own during the explosion without hesitation.

“You’ve earned it,” he said, his voice equally low.His hand found hers in the darkness between them, fingers intertwining briefly before releasing.The touch lasted only seconds, but the promise it contained sustained her as they drove toward what might be their most dangerous confrontation yet.

Mitchell was waiting, and he still had the power to unleash devastation.But for the first time since this mission began, Sabrina felt certain they would stop him.Not because of Dynamis’s resources or Atticus’s tactical brilliance, though both were formidable, but because of what they’d forged between them all—a team unified by purpose, strengthened by trust, and driven by the determination that some lines should never be crossed.

The bioweapon would never reach the market.Mitchell would face justice for Jane’s murder.And perhaps, when it was over, there would finally be time for that conversation Atticus had promised—the one that had nothing to do with missions and everything to do with beginnings.

As the road stretched out before them, Sabrina found herself studying Atticus’s profile.The hard lines of his face, softened slightly by exhaustion.The shadow of stubble along his jaw.The watchful intensity in his eyes that never fully disappeared, even in moments of relative calm.

She wondered what Jane had seen when she’d looked at him.Not just the commanding presence or the tactical brilliance, but the man beneath—the one capable of fierce loyalty and unexpected tenderness.The one who’d raised a daughter alone while building an empire dedicated to one purpose: justice.

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