I guide Ethan up the ramp personally. He collapses into the med bay with a grunt, eyes never leaving mine.
“You kept the promise,” he says.
I grip his shoulder. “Always.”
Lance is right behind him, supported but standing. He pauses at the threshold, looks back at the facility burning behind us.
Then at me.
“Permission to forget that place exists?” he asks quietly.
“Denied,” I say. “But you never have to go back.”
That’s enough.
The ramp slams shut.
The bird lifts. I look around, and that’s when I see Marin sitting in the back, wiping a tear from her cheek.
Below us, the Ascendancy burns—not in flames, but in purpose lost, control shattered.
Malenkov thought chains were leverage.
He forgot something basic.
You don’t weaken Navy SEALs by breaking their bodies.
You just teach them how much they’re willing to endure for each other.
I sit back, finally letting myself breathe.
“Jonah,” I say into the comm. “We’ve got them.”
A pause.
Then his voice—rough, relieved, alive.
“Roger that,” Jonah says. “Told you I’d hold.”
I close my eyes for just a second.
“Rendezvous point,” I tell him. “You’re coming home too.”
Because no one gets left behind.
Not today.
Not ever again.
71
Malenkov
Location: Ascendancy Command Level
Time: 1241 Hours
The screens are wrong.
