The walls groaned and buckled as the floor beneath you and JJ trembled violently, sending dust and debris raining down. The building's structural integrity was failing fast, and the roar of collapsing beams drowned out the chaos of the raid outside. Your leg throbbed painfully from a fresh wound, while JJ cradled their arm, a makeshift bandage doing little to stop the bleeding.

“Stay with me!” JJ shouted, their voice sharp and cutting through the din as they hauled a chunk of rubble off your leg. “We don’t have time for hesitation.”

You winced, pulling yourself to your feet despite the sharp protests of your injured leg. “No kidding. What’s the plan, genius? Because we’re running out of options fast.”

JJ glanced around, their face smeared with dirt and blood, but their eyes burned with determination. “There's an emergency stairwell a few rooms over - if it hasn’t caved in yet. But…” They hesitated, and for a moment, you caught something unusual in their expression. Fear? Regret?

“But what?” you pressed, limping forward as another tremor shook the building. “Spit it out.”

“I should’ve listened to you earlier,” JJ said, their voice uncharacteristically soft, though it didn’t stop their hands from pulling you along. “I got us into this mess. We shouldn’t have gone in blind.”