The alley opened onto a residential street, quiet houses on either side, most of them already emptied by the morning's evacuation order. Osei moved fast at the front, checking corners, waving the group forward in short bursts between cover points.
"Truck's two blocks that way," she said, pointing past a row of parked cars. "If we keep this pace, we clear the district before they catch up."
Behind them, the engine sound grew louder, closer, no longer just background noise but something actively hunting.
"They're not searching," Reyes said, glancing back. "They're following a specific route. Somebody's tracking us."
"Tracking how?" Marcus asked, keeping Elena's hand tight in his own as they moved.
"Ibarra's laptop," Priya said suddenly, looking at the bag clutched against Ibarra's chest
