Chapter 26 Aaron
Aaron
Location: Interior — Blacksite Facility
Time: Night
The door opens.
And for half a second—
No one understands what they’re looking at.
The man stands between me and Lark.
Blocking.
Talking.
Still thinking he’s in control.
Then I move.
No warning.
No hesitation.
The shot cracks through the room—
Not his head.
His shoulder.
He spins, screaming, crashing into the table and ripping the monitor down with him.
Glass shatters.
Metal screams.
Lark is already moving.
Of course she is.
She kicks the chair back hard, pivots, slams the cuffs against the edge of the table—
Once.
Twice.
The weakened link snaps.
She’s free before his body even hits the floor.
“Behind the glass,” she says.
Calm.
Precise.
Like we’ve done this before.
I pivot and fire.
The observation window explodes inward, spiderweb cracks collapsing into a storm of shards. A body drops on the other side.
The facility wakes up.
Voices.
Boots.
Shouting.
Too late.
“Move,” I tell her.
We move.
She’s right beside me.
Not behind.
Not slowing.
Matching pace.
The hallway is narrow.
Tight.
Perfect.
First guard rounds the corner—
He never gets his weapon up.
Second takes a round through the knee and slams into the wall.
Third hesitates.
That’s the mistake.
He dies surprised.
“Left,” Lark says.
I don’t question it.
I trust her.
We turn—
And gunfire tears through the space we just left.
Too slow.
They’re already behind us.
“Ronan,” I say. “We’re mobile.”
“I see you,” he replies. “And they see you. Whole place just lit up.”
“Find me an exit.”
“Working. Three turns ahead—loading bay.”
“They’ll funnel us.”
“I know.”
We run.
A man drops from above—
Lark’s voice cuts sharp. “Aaron—!”
I spin and fire.
He hits the ground before he lands fully.
We keep moving.
No pause.
No break.
My shoulder burns—
A graze.
Hot.
Wet.
Ignore it.
The loading bay comes into view.
Doors half open.
Dark beyond.
Perfect kill zone.
Of course.
“Smoke?” Lark asks, already reading it.
I glance at her.
Just for a second.
And yeah—
She’s steady.
Focused.
With me.
“Always.”
I throw.
The canister hits—
White erupts.
Thick.
Blinding.
The world disappears into chaos.
We move through it.
Fast.
Low.
Controlled.
A shape lunges through the smoke—grabs her—
I don’t think.
I react.
I break his arm backward and put a round in his chest before he hits the ground.
She doesn’t even stumble.
We’re through.
Outside air slams into us.
Cold.
Sharp.
Real.
“Ronan,” I snap.
“Vehicle left. Thirty seconds before they regroup.”
We run.
No hesitation.
We hit the car—
Doors slam—
Engine roars—
Bullets rip into metal—
Glass shatters—
And then—
We’re moving.
Fast.
Out.
Alive.