* * *

Sarah got into position on the roof of a neighboring office building with a view of the east-facing store windows, while Scorpion would take the west-facing ones. Griffon, Mermaid, Pegasus, and Unicorn had the ground. They were spread thin, but it had been a busy day.

“Locals have the perimeter locked down,” Cypher said, sounding in her ear. “Are we moving them back?”

“Probably best,” Griffon said. “Tell them we’ll handle it.”

“Do we have access to any of the security cameras yet?” Unicorn asked.

“Give me a moment.”

Sarah adjusted her weapon. “Phoenix in position.”

A plane flew by a little too low—they were only a few blocks from the airport—and she missed part of what Griffon said.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?”

“What do you see?” he asked.

The question gave her a sense of déjà vu, though she couldn’t place it.

She looked through the scope, tuning out the reports coming in over the com. “I see ten hostages against the south wall.”

“Any hostiles on your end?”

“I see one hostile moving around.”

“Two on the main floor,” Mermaid said.

“Unicorn, do you have a clear view?”

“Negative.”

The sun came out from behind the clouds and reflected off the building to her left, producing an annoying glare. “I thought there were at least four hostiles.”

“Anyone have a shot of the one with the hostages?” Griffon asked.

“I can make it work,” Scorpion said.

Sarah shifted, trying to escape the glare. “I have a clear shot, but it’s outside my comfort zone.”

“Better not risk it if we have options,” Griffon said. “Scorpion, your call.”

“I can make it. But I don’t have a view of the hostages.”

“Guys, I only see two in the main hall. With the one with the hostages, that’s three,” Mermaid said. “Locals said they saw either four or five.”

“They weren’t sure.”

“Keep your eyes open. This could be a distraction.”

“I’ve got a runner,” Pegasus said, sounding as if he were in pursuit. “Alley, north side.”

“Anyone close by?” Griffon asked.

There was a moment of silence. Sarah glanced down from her ledge and caught a glimpse of a dark figure, probably Pegasus, running along one the back alleys. “Just missed him. I’d have to switch positions to get a clearer view.”

“Stay put, Phoenix. Keep your eyes on the hostages.”

Sounds of a struggle filtered through the com. Sarah tried very hard to keep focusing on the rest of Griffon’s instructions. It wasn’t as if Pegasus had asked for help.

“I got him,” Pegasus said.

Sarah wasn’t prepared for the shot that came next. It echoed strangely between the buildings, propagating in the silence.

She flinched. She couldn’t help it.

Two more shots finished the set. She found herself struggling to breathe.

“Who was that?” Griffon asked, dispelling any hope she had that it hadn’t been real.

“I can’t get anything on Pegasus,” Cypher said.

“Pegasus?” Griffon called, maybe an automatic reaction.

Silence.

Sarah didn’t think there could be such silence.

She moved shakily to her feet, unsure what to do.

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“I’m on it,” Unicorn said as if responding to some command.

“We’ve got movement inside.” That was Scorpion.

Sarah repositioned herself, trying to clear some of the haze from her mind. She didn’t realize she was crying until her vision started blurring. She desperately wiped at her eyes, trying to calm down.

Breathe.

Just until this was over. A little longer.

Her heart was pounding in her chest now.

“On my mark,” Griffon said.

She noticed she’d missed something.

“Phoenix?” Griffon again. “Do you still see the hostages?”

She counted them quickly. Ten hostages.

“Yes,” she answered curtly, trying not to let her voice waver.

A deep breath and the world disappeared except for the end of her scope. Her hands were all but shaking, and she desperately tried to keep them steady. The gunman she could see was down before she’d even reasoned that Scorpion would have pulled the trigger. In the quick burst of chaos that followed—it was probably over in seconds—the other two hostiles were taken care of by the ground team.

She watched as Griffon and Mermaid approached the hostages without further surprises.

As soon as she heard the all clear, she rushed to the other side of the building and looked down. From her vantage point, she could see the bend in the alley, and near the corner, a body lying motionless on the ground.

Her legs faltered, her mind trying to keep her afloat by insisting it might not be Pegasus down there. There was no way she could be sure.

It was too far away, and a person in black was only a person in black. It wouldn’t be him until she saw his face.

She sucked in a breath, switching her com frequency to secondary operations. Unicorn was saying whatever terrorists remained had gotten away.

Doubt crept in. If that were Pegasus on the ground, Unicorn would never have left him unattended if he were wounded, right?

Sarah covered her mouth, trying not to make a sound, but she was sobbing now.

Pegasus couldn’t be dead, not like that. The desperate thought was a welcome defense for a few chaotic seconds.

Griffon asked her for a report, but she didn’t think she could speak.

“Phoenix?”

“All clear,” she choked out.

“Head back to the van.”

She quickly collected her things and headed for the stairs. Enveloped in a haze, she started moving faster and faster, jumping down several steps at once.

She should ask someone about Pegasus over the com.

Another tear formed.

But she wasn’t ready for the answer yet, not if it was not the one she wanted to hear.

Her feet took her towards him regardless of her will.

Hitting an invisible wall, she stopped at the sight of the body on the stretcher. Despite the crowd, there was nothing but silence as she walked towards it, her own breathing resonating loudly in her ears.

No one argued as she pulled the cover away, fists clenched on the plastic as if her body had convulsed.

A tortured sound she didn’t recognize came from her own lips.

It was Pegasus.

She stared at Pegasus’ motionless body, fooling herself into believing she’d see him move. He would get up and walk away, laughing about it as if nothing happened.

The passing seconds diminished that hope, and the illusion was painfully stripped away by the sight of blood pooling underneath his head.

Sarah fought for breath. There the feeling had been, waiting for her in that moment. She recognized it now, that awful feeling that had been plaguing her when Pegasus kissed her. It was her heart being ripped from her chest.

She shook her head, unable to look away. This couldn’t be real. “Please,” she asked, unsure who she was asking—fate, chance, or her own twisted mind.

She choked on a breath, backing away when her vision started darkening. Oblivion might offer some respite, but she fought against it. She backed up until she slammed her back full force against the wall of the alley, hitting her head against a metal frame.

She sucked in a breath at the sharp pain. The smell of rust assaulted her senses, too similar to the smell of blood. Moving without clear direction, she ran into someone. Arms closed around her firmly.

“We have to go back now,” Mermaid whispered.

Sarah nodded, letting the woman lead her back to their van.

Oblivious to the world around her, Sarah wished that she could wake up.

The bad things were real. She pulled the wretched mask off, unable to breathe, and swallowed back another sob.

Griffon sat solid like a statue, eyes staring out into nothing. Head buried in her hands, Scorpion was muttering something to herself.

Unicorn sat beside her, a hand on her shoulder. “The second one must’ve snuck up behind him when he was dealing with the runner. I caught sight of two of them before they got away.”

Scorpion turned a glare towards the woman, but did not try to shake away her hand.

“One shot hit the vest, one his shoulder.” Unicorn squeezed her eyes shut, pulling Scorpion into an embrace. “And one was to the back of his head.”

Mermaid sat on her other side, crying quietly.

It was real then. Pegasus was gone.

No more smiles filled with mischief, no more jokes, no more…

The weight of that reality crushed her for a moment, stopping the air from entering her lungs. It was hard not to scream.

When they got to the compound, they accompanied Pegasus’ body upstairs. Sarah had never witnessed such a sight.

Everyone had been waiting for them in Comm as they entered. People she would have thought had been as unshakable as the foundation of that place were in tears.

The one that surprised her the most, but probably shouldn’t have, was Zeus. She’d heard someone joke that he was like a son to their leader, but to see it displayed in that moment put her own grief into perspective. She hadn’t been the only one to love him.

Her eyes widened. Was that what that feeling was?

She swallowed back another sob. The answer should have been obvious.

After a short goodbye, Zeus removed himself to his office without a word to anyone.

A bizarre wake in the middle of Comm, people started going over to pay their respects. Sarah couldn’t move though, unwilling to see him that way anymore. She’d rather have the playful smile and piercing gaze.

A hand squeezed Sarah’s arm and she glanced up to see Unicorn. “Will you come talk to me later?”

Sarah nodded, all she could do at the moment.

A loud thud woke her from her stupor. She wasn’t sure what had happened for a moment, but then Scorpion proceeded to hit Pegasus’ lifeless body again and again. No one stopped her. Not even Sarah dared move.

“You idiot!” Scorpion shouted when she finally stopped herself. “How dare you?” Crying, she kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

Sarah took a step back, then another.

Her mind wanted no part in this.

She ran.

Chest feeling like it was being crushed under an enormous weight, she stumbled down the stairs and along the empty hallways until she made it to the garden. She collapsed before reaching her favorite tree.

Pain blossomed, tearing her apart from the inside. She clutched at her chest, clenching her teeth to stop from screaming. The pain she felt when Pegasus kissed her was but a pale shadow of this. She knew now. This was what a broken heart felt like.