By the time Soren and Roy reached the ground floor, everyone else was already there.
The living room had taken on the quiet, slightly compressed atmosphere of a room that held more people than it was designed to hold comfortably. Howard and his three teammates occupied one side, still in their rotation gear despite being pulled off their rest cycle. Evan and Cody had found seats near the window. Smith, Garrett, and Henry were arranged near the far wall with the particular stillness of men who were used to waiting in rooms like this one. Graham stood near the doorway, and Scott was settled into the center sofa in a lightweight blazer, relaxed in the way that only people with genuine authority tended to be relaxed in rooms full of armed professionals.
He looked up when Soren and Roy came i
