Morning came gray and quiet over the farmhouse, mist clinging low to the fields outside. Marcus woke first, stiff from sleeping upright in a kitchen chair, Elena curled against him where she'd fallen asleep sometime after their conversation the night before.
He eased out from under her carefully, tucking a jacket around her shoulders, and stepped outside onto the porch where the cold air helped clear his head. Reyes was already there, sitting on the steps, shoulder bandaged, testing his arm's movement with careful, wincing patience.
"You should be resting," Marcus said, sitting down beside him.
"Been resting all night," Reyes said. "Figured sitting upright counts as progress." He rolled his shoulder gently, grimacing. "Priya do good work?"
"Looks like it," Marcus said. "You're lucky it
