BSA containment vans surrounded the smoking ruins as agents herded freed spirits toward medical triage stations.
Kane watched a bird spirit with regenerating wings refuse assistance, its defiant cry echoing across the hospital grounds.
Commander Qi emerged from a tactical vehicle, his bronze antlers gleaming under the emergency floodlights.
His green eyes swept over the assembled group with barely contained fury.
"Agent Ashwood. Agent Ginsei." His voice carried the weight of impending disciplinary action.
"Care to explain why you're both present at an unauthorized operation that resulted in the destruction of a classified facility?"
Ginsei straightened, ice-blue eyes meeting Qi's glare without flinching. "Sir, Agent Ashwood was—"
"Kidnapped," Cyrus interrupted, his presence commanding immediate attention.
"Your agent was taken by Elias Thorne. This was a rescue operation, not an unauthorized mission."
