Sitting at the foot of a tree, his legs hidden under his stretched out jacket, Roland shivered with cold as much as with anger. Dawn was rising, a silent witness to a wait of several hours, and no one came to meet them. Ecclesio, seated in front of him as if he were just on the terrace of a café, scanned the sky at regular intervals for signs of any presence. When a flock of birds passed over their position, the Italian got up and walked towards the nearby road. The sound of an engine shortly preceded the appearance of two lengthened SUVs, as black as the darkness from which they arose. Ecclesio motioned to them, then went to help his colleague to get up. Numb from the cold, Roland had a little trouble finding a good balance. He hopped around for a moment, lips trembling, but stopped as so
