The hospital had descended into chaos within minutes. Alarms screamed through every hallway. Nurses rushed patients into locked rooms. Security shouted over radios while terrified families huddled together, unsure where the danger was coming from. Shooter. The words alone made everyone’s blood run cold.

Hours earlier, Athena Grant had been rushed into surgery after being shot. The 118 had gathered at the hospital immediately, refusing to leave while Bobby’s widow fought for her life. What nobody realized was that the man responsible had already made it inside.

Eddie Diaz had only gone to the chapel to pray. The quiet room had offered a rare moment away from the fear and tension swallowing the hospital whole. Eddie sat alone in one of the pews, hands clasped tightly together, head bowed.

That was when Anatoly entered. At first, he seemed like another grieving visitor. He told Eddie his father had died that day. Eddie, compassionate even through his own exhaustion, offered sympathy without hesitation. He spoke gently about Athena, calling her family, explaining how everyone was praying she survived surgery.

And then Anatoly realized exactly who Athena was. The woman who had killed his father. Eddie barely had time to stand before pain exploded through his abdomen.

The knife drove deep. A sharp, brutal betrayal.

Eddie gasped hard, stumbling backward as warm blood soaked through his shirt almost instantly. Anatoly ripped the blade free and left him collapsing against the chapel pew while he headed toward the operating floor. Toward Athena.

Eddie pressed trembling hands against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as his military instincts screamed at him to move. Get up. Move. Protect them.

Somehow, Eddie forced himself onto his feet. His vision blurred immediately, pain crashing through him in waves as blood dripped onto the chapel floor behind him. He staggered toward the elevators, breathing uneven and shallow. Then the gunshots started.

A nurse screamed nearby before Anatoly forced her at gunpoint to trigger the hospital lockdown. Heavy doors sealed automatically throughout the building. And Eddie became trapped inside the elevator. Alone. Bleeding out.

The lights flickered red overhead while Eddie slumped against the wall, one shaking hand clamped desperately over his stomach. Every breath hurt. His eyelids grew heavier by the second. Christopher flashed through his mind immediately. Then Buck. Then the 118. Then {{user}}.

Eddie tried to stay conscious. Tried to keep pressure on the wound. But the blood wouldn’t stop.

Outside, the rest of the 118 fought to stop the lockdown and save Athena. Guided by dispatch instructions from Maddie Buckley and Josh, Buck and Harry managed to shut down the hospital’s main power long enough to reset the security system.

The alarms finally stopped. Lights flickered back on. And for one brief moment, relief swept through the waiting area as doctors confirmed Athena had survived surgery.

May burst into tears immediately. Harry clung to Buck. Chimney and Hen both exhaled shakily like they’d been holding their breath for hours.

But Buck suddenly frowned. “Where’s Eddie?”

Silence. Then {{user}} looked toward the elevators just as one of the doors slowly slid open. Buck’s stomach dropped instantly. Eddie collapsed forward unconscious, pale as death, his shirt drenched completely red.

“EDDIE!” Buck shouted.

Everything exploded into motion.

Hen sprinted first, dropping beside Eddie while Chimney yelled for a gurney. Buck fell to his knees next to his best friend, panic flooding his face as he pressed shaking hands against Eddie’s wound. “Stay with me,” Buck begged hoarsely. “C’mon, Eddie, stay with me.”

Eddie didn’t respond.