The first shot cracked through the silence like a whip.
It hit the metal frame of the door with a sharp clang, sending sparks flying just inches from Callen's shoulder. He didn't hesitate—he was already moving, already returning fire, his stance shifting fluidly as he dropped behind one of the server racks.
"Contact!" he barked into his comm, his voice tight. "Multiple hostiles—east sub-level, breaching now!"
Outside the door, footsteps thundered. More shots rang out, tearing through the dim, humming room. Bullets ripped through wiring, screens exploded in showers of sparks, the air filling with the stink of burning plastic and gunpowder.
But Nell didn't move.
She ducked slightly, flinching only when necessary, but her fingers never left the keys. Her eyes flicked between lines of code, the flickering data feed, and the download meter crawling across her screen.
"Almost there," she muttered to herself.
Another bullet sliced through the air near her head—close—too close.
A hot sting kissed her temple. Her skin tore, blood running down the side of her face in a thin, sharp line.
She blinked. Once.
Didn't stop.
She didn't have time to process the pain. Didn't have the luxury of fear. Callen was there holding them back—trusting her to do her part.
So she did.
Callen ducked behind another server, popped up, and took out the nearest target—a man in tactical gear with military posture, dropping him with two quick shots. Another attacker flanked left, trying to get an angle on Nell's station.
Callen saw him before he saw her.
Bang.
Second guy hit the floor, hard.
"Stay down!" Callen shouted toward her. "You're exposed!"
"I'm working!" Nell shouted back, voice clear and sharp and completely unaffected by the graze across her head.
Another server behind her shattered from gunfire—pieces of hot metal pinged across her keyboard, but she still didn't flinch. "Two more minutes. I can kill the outbound connection and trap whatever's in here."
"I need thirty seconds," Callen called back, voice tight as he reloaded. "Then I can give you quiet."
Nell's lips curved into the faintest grin, blood trailing down the side of her cheek. "You're not really the 'quiet' type, Callen."
He almost laughed—almost—but a third attacker pushed through the doorway just then. Callen ducked behind the terminal and fired two quick shots—
One miss. One hit.
The guy dropped, one shot was all Callen needed.
A fourth came through right behind him, more cautious now. Callen didn't hesitate—he rolled left, used the servers for cover, and fired from a low angle. Dropped him with one in the chest.
Silence returned in stages—first the guns stopped, then the sound of boots. Then just the hum of overworked computers and the sharp crackle of a sparking monitor.
Callen stayed crouched, gun still raised. He scanned the room, eyes sharp. "Clear."
From behind the glowing bank of servers, Nell exhaled slowly and leaned back in her chair.
"Transfer complete," she said quietly. "Data's ours. And I just locked down the external ports—whoever was pulling from this system just got shut out cold."
Callen moved toward her, eyes instantly catching the blood at her temple. "You're hit."
She waved a hand. "It's a scratch. A dramatic one, sure, but I think I'll survive."
He leaned over beside her, hand brushing lightly against her cheek to tilt her face toward him. The wound was shallow, but it was bleeding.
"You didn't even flinch," he said, almost impressed.
"I had a job to do," she replied, holding his gaze. "You had your thing. I had mine."
His eyes lingered on her for a moment—soft, unreadable.
"You're kind of a badass, you know that?" He smiled.
"I've been trying to tell you," she said, lips twitching despite herself.
Callen stood again, offering her a hand. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet.
Footsteps echoed in the hall again—but this time, they were familiar. Sam's voice came through the comm:
"Callen, we're at the lower stairwell. You good?"
"We're clear," Callen replied, eyes still on Nell. "Room's secure. You're gonna want to see this setup down here."
Sam's voice came back, dry. "On our way."
"You sure you're okay?" Callen asked turning to Nell again, a little quieter this time.
She looked around the room, bloodied but standing, data safe on her drive, and smiled.
"Yeah," she said. "This was kinda fun.