Chapter 26 THE SHOT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Chapter 26 THE SHOT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Sera's POV

The red dot centered on my chest.

Time slowed.

I saw the sniper's position. Rooftop. Three buildings away.

I saw Kade turning toward me. Mouth opening to shout a warning.

I saw the muzzle flash.

Then Damon slammed into me.

His body took the bullet meant for my heart.

We hit the ground together. Hard. His weight crushing the air from my lungs.

Blood spread across his chest. Dark. Too much.

"No," I whispered. "No no no. Not again."

Damon's eyes found mine. He tried to smile. Failed.

"Told you," he gasped. Blood bubbled at his lips. "Terrible at safe plans."

Kade was already returning fire. His shots lit up the night. The sniper position went dark.

Ryker dropped beside us. His hands went to Damon's wound. Pressed hard.

"Through and through," Ryker said. His voice was shaking. "Missed the heart but hit a lung. He's drowning in his own blood."

"Fix it," I demanded. "Like you fixed Kade. Bring him back."

"Sera, I don't have equipment. I don't have a sterile environment. I can't—"

"Fix it!" I screamed.

Damon's hand found mine. Squeezed weakly.

"Listen," he whispered. "Victoria. She's not in the Citadel. Trick. She's somewhere else. Broadcasting remotely."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Saw the video feed," Damon said. Each word was harder than the last. "Background. Lighting. Wrong. Not Citadel interior. Different building."

His eyes were closing.

"Damon, stay with me," I begged. "Please. I can't lose you. Not after everything."

"Not losing me," he breathed. "Just resting. Wake me when it's over."

His hand went limp in mine.

"No!" I shook him. "Damon!"

Ryker checked for a pulse. "He's alive. Barely. But without immediate surgery—"

"Then get him to surgery," Kade ordered. He was still scanning for more snipers. "Nova, transport. Now."

Nova appeared with a commandeered vehicle. We loaded Damon into it.

"Take him back to the Genesis Center medical wing," Kade said. "It's the closest facility with the right equipment."

"That's suicide," Nova replied. "Victoria's forces control that area."

"Then you fight through them," Kade said. His commander voice left no room for argument. "Ryker, go with her. Save him."

Ryker looked torn. "But the assault on the Citadel—"

"Means nothing if we lose people saving them," Kade interrupted. "Go. We'll handle Victoria."

The vehicle took off. Damon unconscious in the back. Ryker trying desperately to keep him breathing.

That left me, Kade, Lila, and maybe eight Wardens.

Against Victoria's forces. Against the bombing runs. Against an entire global Tribunal.

"Fifty-two minutes," Lila said quietly. "Until the next execution."

I looked at Kade. Blood still seeping through his shirt from where Thorne had stabbed him. He should be in a hospital. Should be recovering.

Instead he was standing here ready to fight again.

"Damon was right," I said. "About Victoria not being in the Citadel. If she's broadcasting remotely, the prisoners might not even be there."

"Then where?" Kade asked.

Lila worked her device. "Analyzing the video feed Damon saw. Running location analysis based on lighting, sound, architectural details."

She paused. "Got it. The old Tribunal courthouse. Downtown. Abandoned for ten years but still structurally sound."

"That's where Victoria is," I said. "That's where the real prisoners are."

"Which means the Citadel is a diversion," Kade realized. "She wants us to waste forces attacking an empty building while she executes hostages elsewhere."

"Smart," I admitted. "Evil. But smart."

Another explosion rocked the city. Closer this time.

"The bombing runs are getting worse," one of the Wardens said. "They're systematically destroying the Production Districts."

I watched another building collapse in flames. People were dying. Every second we delayed, more people died.

"We split up," I decided. "Kade, you take half the Wardens. Rally civilians. Create a distraction at the Citadel. Make Victoria think we're attacking there."

"What will you do?" Kade asked.

"I'm going to the courthouse," I replied. "With Lila and the rest of the Wardens. We rescue the prisoners. We capture Victoria. We end this."

Kade grabbed my arm. "That's the more dangerous assignment. You should take the distraction mission."

"I should take the one that matters most," I corrected. "You're better at commanding large groups. I'm better at sneaking into places I shouldn't be."

I could see him wanting to argue. Wanting to protect me.

"Trust me," I said. "Like I trusted you when you died and came back."

Kade's expression softened. "If you die, I'm going to be very angry with you."

"If I die, you have permission to yell at my ghost," I replied.

He kissed me. Quick and desperate. Like it might be the last time.

Then he pulled back. "Forty-eight minutes. Don't be late."

He took four Wardens and disappeared into the burning city.

That left me with Lila and four exhausted soldiers.

"The courthouse is three kilometers from here," Lila said. "Through active combat zones."

"Then we better move fast," I replied.

We ran through streets filled with chaos. Fires burning. People fleeing. Tribunal aircraft overhead dropping bombs with mechanical precision.

The courthouse loomed ahead. Old stone building. Massive columns. Dark windows.

"No guards visible," one of the Wardens observed.

"That's because they're inside," I said. "Waiting."

We found a service entrance. Lila hacked the lock in under a minute.

Inside was darkness. Empty corridors. The smell of decay and abandonment.

"This feels wrong," Lila whispered.

"Everything about this feels wrong," I agreed.

We moved through the building. Silent. Careful. Weapons ready.

Then we heard it. Voices. Coming from what used to be the main courtroom.

I peered through a crack in the door.

The prisoners were there. All 237 of them. Bound. Guarded. Waiting.

And standing at the judge's bench was Victoria Cross.

But she wasn't alone.

Sitting beside her were eleven other people. Old. Powerful looking. Cold eyes.

The other Tribunal members. The ones from settlements worldwide.

They were all here. In one room.

"This is it," I breathed. "Every Tribunal leader in one place."

"It's a trap," Lila said. "Has to be."

"Probably," I agreed. "But it's also an opportunity. We take them all down right now. End the Tribunal forever."

"With four Wardens against their entire security force?" Lila asked. "That's suicide."

I checked my weapon. "We're good at suicide missions. We keep surviving them."

Before Lila could argue, Victoria's voice echoed through the courtroom.

"I know you're there, Sera Ashford," she said pleasantly. "I can see your heat signature on our scanners. Four Wardens. One civilian. Quite the rescue party."

The doors locked automatically. Metal shutters dropped over windows.

We were trapped.

"Come out," Victoria continued. "Or I start executing prisoners. Your choice. You have thirty seconds."

I looked at Lila. At the four Wardens. All of them ready to die.

"On my signal, we go loud," I whispered. "Maximum chaos. Focus on freeing prisoners. Let them fight with us."

"That's not a plan," Lila hissed. "That's barely an idea."

"It's what we've got," I replied.

I stood up. Walked through the door into the courtroom.

All twelve Tribunal members stared at me. Guards raised weapons. Prisoners looked up with hope and fear.

"Hello Victoria," I said. "I'm here. Now let them go."

Victoria smiled. "I said you should surrender. Not waltz in with weapons and soldiers."

"I never agreed to your terms," I replied. "I just agreed to show up."

Victoria's smile faded. "Kill her."

Guards opened fire.

I dove behind a bench. My Wardens burst through the door returning fire.

Chaos erupted.

Prisoners started fighting their bonds. Some broke free and grabbed fallen weapons.

The courtroom became a war zone.

I fought my way toward the Tribunal members. Saw Victoria running for an exit.

Caught her before she reached it.

Slammed her against the wall. Put my weapon to her head.

"Call off the bombing," I ordered. "Now."

Victoria laughed. "You think I control the aircraft? Those are automated. Programmed to continue until Neo-Genesis City is ash. Killing me changes nothing."

"Then you die for nothing," I said.

"We all die for something," Victoria replied. "I die knowing the Tribunal's legacy continues. You die knowing you failed."

Behind us the battle raged. Prisoners fighting guards. My Wardens outnumbered but desperate.

"Sera!" Lila screamed.

I turned.

One of the other Tribunal members had grabbed Lila. Held a knife to her throat.

"Drop the weapon," he said. "Or your sister dies."

I looked at Victoria. At Lila. At the impossible choice.

Again.

Always the same impossible choice.

That's when the wall exploded.

Not from bombs. From something else.

Through the smoke came people. Hundreds of them. Civilians from the Production Districts. Armed with whatever they could find. Led by someone I never expected to see.

Jace Morgan.

Alive. Bloodied. But fighting on our side.

"You sold me to the Tribunal," I said when he reached me.

"I did," Jace agreed. "And I've regretted it every day since. Let me make it right."

He shot the Tribunal member holding Lila. She broke free.

The civilians flooded the courtroom. Overwhelming the guards through sheer numbers.

The other Tribunal members tried to run. Got cut off. Surrounded.

It was over in minutes.

Victory. Actual victory.

I stood there among the bodies and smoke trying to process that we'd actually won.

Then Lila's device beeped.

She looked at it and her face went white.

"Sera," she said. "Message from Ryker. He says... he says Damon died on the operating table. He couldn't save him. Damon's gone."

The world stopped.

We'd won the war.

But I'd lost another man I loved.

And somewhere in this burning city, Kade was fighting alone not knowing we'd just lost Damon forever.