Bullets ricocheted off the walls, the air filled with the deafening roar of gunfire. Uno and Denise crouched behind a half-broken wall, each firing back at the wave of enemies converging on them. The music blaring from Uno's glasses seemed to fuel his focus; every shot he took found its mark.
“Lance!” Uno shouted into his comms, his voice strained but determined. “Get your ass here, now! We’re surrounded!”
Denise, her face set in fierce concentration, glanced over at Uno as he continued to fire without hesitation. She suddenly noticed movement from the corner of her eye—an enemy creeping up behind Uno, knife raised.
“Frost, behind you!” Denise yelled. Without thinking, she yanked a North Heathson lighter grenade from her belt and flung it toward the enemy. The grenade exploded in a brilliant flash of light and smoke, sending the attacker stumbling back, disoriented.
Denise leapt forward, grabbed Uno by the shoulder, and spun him around just in time to catch the dazed assailant with a swift kick to the chest, sending him crashing into a pile of debris.
Uno blinked, surprised. "Nice save," he managed to say, still processing the close call.
"No time for compliments, Frost!" Denise replied sharply, gripping his arm. "We need to move. Now!"
The two of them started sprinting toward the exit, bullets whizzing past them as the gunfight grew even more chaotic. Denise guided Uno through the maze of rubble and overturned furniture, her hand still on his arm.
“Kraken, where the fuck is that plane?” she barked into her comms.
“Five minutes out, Starlight,” Lance’s voice crackled back. “Just hold tight.”
Denise’s eyes narrowed. “Five minutes is too long. We don’t have that kind of time!”
Uno was right beside her, his breathing heavy but controlled. “I can hold them off,” he said. “You just get us to the extraction point.”
Denise shot him a quick look, her expression a mix of determination and concern. “We do this together, Uno. I’m not leaving you behind.”
Uno’s heart pounded harder at her words, an unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline or something else, but he felt a strange pull toward her—a pull that had been growing stronger for weeks. Was it possible… could he actually have a crush on his junior agent?
The thought was almost too absurd to entertain in the middle of a firefight, but there it was, refusing to be ignored.
They reached a side door leading out into a narrow alley. Denise kicked it open, scanning the area quickly before pulling Uno through. “Keep moving!” she shouted, leading him toward the waiting plane that was still nowhere in sight.
As they sprinted down the narrow alley, the roar of the engines grew louder, and they finally saw Lance’s plane through the thick haze of smoke and dust. The aircraft hovered just above the ground, its ramp extending, and the backlights illuminating the darkened alleyway.
Lance was at the edge, waving frantically. "Come on, come on!" he yelled, his voice barely cutting through the sound of gunfire and roaring engines.
Uno and Denise pushed themselves harder, their feet pounding against the concrete. As they reached the ramp, Uno shoved Denise up first, his hand lingering on her back for just a second longer than necessary.
“Move it, Frost!” Denise shouted over her shoulder, but there was a small smile playing at her lips.
Uno grinned and leapt up onto the ramp, just as it started to retract. The plane jolted slightly as it lifted off, ascending sharply into the air. The two agents scrambled into the plane's interior, and the ramp sealed shut behind them.
