The courier's smirk faltered the moment he felt the cold steel against his thigh.
"You wouldn't shoot me in public," he said.
Sienna smiled without warmth. "You think this place is neutral ground. But I brought the fire with me."
He reached slowly into his coat, pulled out a flash drive.
"Everything on Ember," he said. "Just don't kill me."
Sienna took the drive, slipped it into her garter.
A whisper in her earpiece: Nico's voice. "We're clear. Exfil in 60."
She stood, started to walk—
Then everything exploded.
The lights went out.
Gunshots. Screams. Smoke.
And Sienna's instincts kicked in like muscle memory. She ducked, rolled behind the bar, pistol drawn.
Her earpiece crackled.
"Nico?" she hissed.
No response.
Colson's voice came through instead. "Get out. Now."
She sprinted toward the alley exit, gunfire on her heels.
But as she reached the shadows—
A figure stepped out.
Nico.
But he wasn't reaching for her.
He was raising his weapon.
Her heart froze. "Don't," she breathed.
His eyes flicked with something colder than regret. "They offered me a way out. Freedom. Wiping my name from every kill list in the world."
"You were my anchor," she whispered.
"I still am," he said. "Which is why I'm only aiming for your leg."
Bang.
She dropped.
Blood. Heat. The flash drive still secure.
Colson arrived seconds later, laying down fire that dropped two men instantly.
He lifted Sienna into his arms.
"You son of a bitch," he snarled at Nico.
Nico only stepped back into the smoke, disappearing like a ghost—his betrayal cutting deeper than the bullet.
As Colson carried her into the getaway car, Sienna clenched her teeth against the pain.
"I'm not done," she hissed. "I'll drag him back from hell if I have to."
Colson's jaw was tight.
"Then let's burn it down together."