The door behind her slammed shut, and someone whispered in the darkness, «Lock it. She won’t leave this room alive.»
The Radiology door slammed shut behind Eva with a metallic echo that trembled through the room. She didn’t turn. She didn’t need to.
The shift in air pressure, the soft steps spreading out behind her, the click of safeties being disengaged. She read them like vital signs. Five men, maybe six, armed, coordinated, confident.
The leader stood in front of her, mask covering everything except his eyes. Cold, familiar, carved with the same arrogance she last saw in a burning Afghan valley.
«Still breathing,» he said. «Impressive. You should have stayed buried.»
Eva stepped forward into the circle of dim emergency lights. «You first.»
A ripple of anger went through his men. Two moved closer, forming a half-circle around her. One reached for her arm. She didn’t let him touch her.
Her elbow cracked upward, snapping his jaw sideways with a sickening crunch. Before the second man reacted, she stripped the fallen one’s knife and drove the hilt into the side of his temple. Both bodies dropped, colliding with the cold floor.
The leader didn’t flinch. «You were always the problem, Weston,» he said. «Medics follow orders. You questioned everything.»
«That’s why I’m alive,» she replied. «And why your men aren’t.»
Another attacker lunged with a suppressed pistol, but Eva dropped low, sweeping his knee and slamming his wrist against the equipment rail, dislocating it instantly. The gun clattered uselessly across the tiles. Behind her, footsteps pounded.
The Admiral’s voice roared through the PA system overhead. «Weston, hold position!»
She ignored him. A flash of movement on her right. The leader charged. This time, Eva wasn’t fast enough.
His shoulder collided with hers, sending her crashing into the imaging machine. Pain shot through her ribs. Her vision shook. He grabbed her by the throat, pinning her to the cold metal.
«You don’t understand what was buried in that mission. We were cleaning up a mistake.»
Eva clawed at his wrist, lifting her knee, driving it into his ribs. He grunted but didn’t release her. His grip tightened. Her airway narrowed. The edges of her vision darkened.
Then, a gunshot. The leader jerked sideways, blood spraying across the white machine.
Reid stood at the doorway, pale, shaking, barely conscious, but holding a suppressed handgun with both hands.
«Get your hands off her,» he rasped.
The leader staggered, then recovered with terrifying speed. He grabbed Eva by the hair and dragged her in front of him like a shield. Reid’s arms trembled, breath ragged with pain.
«Shoot and you hit her,» the leader taunted.
Eva felt the barrel press against her side. She forced a steady breath.
«Reid. Don’t.»
Reid didn’t lower the gun. «You saved me,» he whispered, voice cracking. «I’m not losing you again.»
The leader laughed. «You won’t have to. She’s—»
Eva slammed her heel into his shin and twisted sharply, breaking his stance just long enough to shove herself sideways. Reid fired. The bullet hit the leader clean in the throat.
He collapsed against the machine, hand clutching the wound, eyes wide with shock, fighting for air he couldn’t pull anymore. His body sank slowly, almost peacefully, to the floor. Eva stood still, chest heaving.
Reid lowered the gun, legs shaking.
«Doc?»
She rushed to him, catching him before he collapsed. His bandages were soaked through again. His breaths were shallow and fast.
«You shouldn’t be out of bed,» she said, voice trembling.
He smirked faintly. «You’re welcome.»
The radiology doors burst open as the Admiral and his team stormed inside, weapons raised, scanning every corner. They froze when they saw the bodies on the ground. Then they looked at Eva supporting Reid.
The Admiral lowered his weapon slowly. «It’s over,» he said. «All of them?»
Eva nodded. «All.»
He exhaled long and deeply, the weight of years settling in his posture. He approached them, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.
«You did what no unit could,» he said quietly. «You ended the threat your team died trying to expose.»
Eva swallowed hard, blinking back the burn in her eyes. «I didn’t want any of this.»
«I know,» the Admiral said. «But you’re still here. That means something.»
Reid’s grip tightened around her arm. «Means she’s tougher than all of us.»
Eva forced a laugh, the sound breaking halfway. «You two are terrible at pep talks.»
The Admiral smiled, the kind only soldiers recognized. «There’s a helicopter waiting. If you want protection, we’ll give it. If you want a new identity, we’ll make it. And if you want to walk away, we’ll stand behind you.»
Eva looked around the room, at the bodies, the shattered machine, the broken glass, the blood smeared across the floor—a battlefield inside a hospital.
«Everything I’ve run from,» she whispered, «always finds me.»
The Admiral nodded. «Then stop running.»
She looked at Reid. He nodded once, weak but sure. Eva stepped toward the hallway, the helicopter blades thundering above them.
For the first time since Afghanistan, she didn’t feel like a ghost. She felt alive. And she walked toward the roof.