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CHAPTER XL. Always With Us
By the time Elina reached the east wing, chaos had already swallowed the space. The stark fluorescent lights overhead flickered erratically, casting a strobe-like effect over the carnage. The corridor was eerily silent save for the hum of electricity and the distant wail of an alarm. Bodies of unconscious guards littered the floor, sprawled in unnatural positions. Some were slumped against the walls, others facedown in pools of blood. The metallic tang of it hung heavy in the air, mixing with the sterile scent of the facility.
Elina crouched beside one of the guards, pressing two fingers to his neck, her jaw tightening when she felt nothing. Another life snuffed out. Her hand trembled slightly as she withdrew it. She knew better than to let the weight of it settle in her chest, but it always found a way to linger.
Blake moved through the room with measured urgency, her eyes scanning every inch of the wreckage. The glass compartment where Barnes had been held was shattered, shards glinting like scattered stars across the floor. The chamber was empty. No sign of Barnes. No sign of the interviewer. Only silence and destruction.
Blake tapped the communicator in her ear. "Steve and Sam disappeared," she said, her tone sharp. "They'll know where he is."
Elina exhaled sharply, the sound half a scoff, half a growl. "Of course," she muttered, her frustration simmering just beneath the surface.
Together, they moved quickly, following the trail of fallen guards. Each turn down the labyrinthine corridors led to more bodies, more signs of the brutal escape. They were close; the signs of struggle grew louder. The distant echoes of shouting and clashing metal reverberated through the hallways, pulling them toward the source like a magnet.
The chaos led them to a wide, open room that had once been a cafeteria. Now it was a warzone. Tables were overturned, chairs smashed into kindling, and the walls bore fresh scorch marks. In the center of the devastation, Sharon Carter lay on the ground, clutching her shoulder, her face twisted in pain.
"Elina..." Sharon groaned, but before she could say more, a frantic mob of agents barreled through the room, panicked and wild-eyed.
Elina barely had time to register the swarm before she was shoved backward. The crowd surged past, nearly knocking her and Blake to the ground. She threw out her arms, steadying herself against the onslaught.
"Blake!" Elina shouted over the din, her voice cutting through the cacophony. "Find Natasha! I'm going after the others."
Blake hesitated for a fraction of a second, her eyes flashing with concern, but she nodded and veered off in the opposite direction. Elina tightened her grip on her resolve, plunging into the fray. She pushed against the current of bodies, shoving and elbowing her way through with ruthless efficiency.
