- A D A R A - K O N S D O T T I R -

     Duck.

     My body contorts, bending backwards and tilting my head as Dom's arm flies by at Mach five. The air whines as the metal connections fly across my view like I'm waiting on a subway. I stagger back, eyes wide as my heart pounds in my chest. We've practiced fighting in drills for years, but never in real combat, never like this. I would've taken a bullet for this man weeks ago, and he would've for me. Nobody in Maelstrom has ever pointed a gun at me before, and now he's trying to end me. 

     Through the gap between his torso and the wall he just punched, I catch a glimpse of the other three looking on in the distance. Natalia stands still, brow furrowed with a hand on her blade like a sentinel on alert. Lucas and Mena stand behind her, eyes wide and conflict sprayed across their expressions. Mena's eyes, still teary-eyed, glisten as the reflection of torchlight dances in them.

     The distinct sound of a knife unsheathing sends a jolt through my body. His left arm raises quickly, and I use my sniper to block the slash. The blade scrapes off the rifle, a jarring metallic scream coming from the newly etched scar. I step back swiftly, my dirty-blonde hair flying across my face as his arm stops midair. 

     "Adara, it's not too late!" Dom pleads, a mix of fury and disappointment in his eyes. I squint, glancing down at the scratch on my gun, extending from the magazine well to the scope. "Come to your senses!"

     "My senses?" I retort in surprise, jumping back as the two of us take defensive stances. I breathe heavily, the air feeling like sandpaper as it glides across my parched lips. "How can you not see what you're doing?"

     "God fucking damn," Dom sighs, his face tightening as sweat drips down his forehead. "How many times do we have to tell you this will save people?"

     "At whose cost?" I interrogate, growing increasingly frustrated with how far they've buried their heads in the sand. "Just think, Dom-"

     "I HAVE!" He exclaims, spit nearly flying from his mouth as I instinctively flinch. For a moment, the exo looks like a cage holding back a rabid dog. His arm beckons to the other three, still standing back in the hall. "We all have! And we all know why you're really doing this."

     "Fuck you," I hiss, my nails digging into my palms as my fists ball up. "No, you don't."

     "You got attached," I hear Natalia say, annoyance in her voice as she throws her arms in the air. "He was cargo, Konsdottir. A walking scandal."

     "He never did any of it!" I state, catching Lucas's attention as his eyebrows raise. "He was framed to keep a secret! Suri is innocent!"

     Mena looks towards me with an indescribable emotion as Dom rushes forward. My eyes go wide as I weave around one of his fists while the other one comes in fast. I brace my core as his fist slams into my abs, pain racing through my body. I fly backwards, a stray bit of air flying from my mouth as I land against the hardwood floor. 

     I try to speak as I attempt to rise to my feet, my hair following me like a hurricane. I narrowly avoid Dom's foot as it flashes by my face, rolling away in panic. Flashbacks to the markets in Erbil fly through my mind, making me wince as I somehow make it to my feet. Dom swings again, and I slam the butt of my sniper into the side of his face as he overextends. 

     He yelps, and I catch sight of Natalia with her hand on her blade and a grave expression on her face. She wouldn't say it, but I knew she was pleading with me to 'not do it.' I grunt as he launches at me, throwing me back and into a door. The wood creaks as I slam into it, dazed as pain screams from my back. 

     I pull my sniper again as I see his hand flying my way. The hydraulics of his suit whine as the arm flies at superhuman speeds, the air seeming to distort around his hand. I manage to get my rifle between myself and his fist, but it doesn't stop me from blasting through the door. I scream in pain as I feel a rib crack, my vision blurry as I'm thrown many feet back. 

     "Adara!" I hear a woman's voice exclaim as I rush to my feet, stumbling as the cracked rib yells at me to stay put. The metal door hinge bounces in front of me, settling onto the floor of the room I've been propelled into. An ornate bed sits to my left, with a few pieces of furniture scattered about. The moonlight pours through the large double window ahead of me as I whip around. 

     "Just stand down!" Dom exclaims, rage in his eyes as he nods his head. "Get out of here! You're not the enemy."

     "They're," I try to bark back, pain jolting through my core as I stumble to my feet with gritted teeth. "They're not either!"

     "Christ, Adara, JUST STOP!" He barks, reaching for me as I deliver a jab straight to his nose. He stumbles back, blood bursting out as one arm reaches up for his nose.

     "I'm not giving up on- on you all!" I stammer, my breath hitching as I go in for another punch. I feel his eyes land on mine, wide and angry at the nose shot. I watch in horror as his hand wraps around my arm, crunching down on it with incredible strength. I yell as I feel the muscles get pushed together under his grip, the-

     No.

     A searing hot jolt of pain radiates through my core as I look down in horror. That's gotta be - there's no way... no.

     Dom's knife is in my torso.

     My eyes go wide as the energy vanishes from my body, the incredible pain making me double over as I fall to the ground in a heap. Blood stains my undershirt from the wound, dousing my stomach in a dark red.

     No.

     My eyes dart up to Dom, a look of horror on his face as he stares at me. His right hand, holding the knife, shakes violently enough to drop it. It lands on the floor with an unsatisfying thud, droplets of blood flying off of it. Regret is plastered across his face as he steps back, breathing heavily as his eyes bounce from me to the knife to his own hands.

     "Adara-"

     His voice is interrupted as gunshots ring out. Dom screams as I watch electrical arcs fly out from his back and metal parts fly off. Dom crumples to the ground, seemingly unable to brace his own fall as the suit gives out. He's unable to walk without it - and now it looks like it's been deactivated. 

     His eyes bounce around the room as he tries to process what just happened. My eyes find their way to the room's entrance, Lucas bursting in with determination. His eyes squint in anger at Dom, the pistol in his hand still throwing smoke from the barrel. "Adara!" He exclaims in shock, his eyes fixated on the pool of blood growing slowly beneath me.

     Unable to say anything, I look back at Dom. I find myself begging for this to just be a bad dream, but it's not - this is what we've come to. Lucas holsters his gun, nodding at me. "Adara, you were right."

     Then, another gunshot rings out.