The city lay quiet before them.
Zolyah lay prone behind the cracked window of a large gray building, her optics pointed northeast along the route Johannes's map had shown.
A barricaded section sat farther along the street, but the curved road cut away more than half her view.
"Eagle One, confirm your sightlines," Dmitri buzzed on the comms.
"I see you, Echo Actual," Zolyah responded. "But I don't see any hostile presence. Careful on the approach."
"Eagle Two, confirm your sightlines."
"You need to see it yourself, Echo Actual," Eagle Two answered, a hint of doubt in their tone. "Place is busted. HVT may not be inside."
Dmitri frowned, checking the time. Everything felt too quiet—too clean for a sector that was supposed to be held.
The road stretched from southwest to northeast, passing through several blocks of structures lined with emptied residential blocks.
Bones lay scattered at the corners and inside rooms, proof that people had lived here and died long ago.
