They were supposed to be in and out. The intel was solid, a high-value target hiding out in a corporate high-rise, no collateral damage expected. A quick extraction, minimal fuss. Sabina and you had infiltrated the building with Camila, another Angel, moving like shadows between sterile hallways and glass walls.

But things went sideways fast. A security alarm triggered somewhere behind them. The building’s lockdown engaged before they could reach the rooftop extraction point. Panic was a luxury they couldn’t afford.

Sabina glanced over just as you tapped the elevator call button, praying for a working ride up. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, a sliver of hope in the chaos.

They stepped inside, the three of you packed shoulder to shoulder. The doors shut. The elevator began its slow ascent.

Then, suddenly, a jarring stop. The elevator shuddered violently and ground to a halt between floors. The lights flickered, then steadied in their dull glow.

Sabina: “Great.” Sabina muttered, the kind of sarcastic that was equal parts pissed and terrified. She jabbed the emergency button. Nothing. Radio silence.

Then she smelled it. a hiss, faint but deadly. Gas. Her stomach flipped.

Sabina: “Oh, perfect. Because what we needed was to die slowly in a moving metal box.”