Nobody spoke for nearly a minute after the Predator feed stabilized.
The forest remained silent around them.
The ruined wagon sat in the clearing like a warning.
And on the tablet screen, hundreds of heat signatures continued moving through the hidden settlement far to the west.
Marcus stared at the image.
Prisoners.
Buildings.
Hundreds of creatures.
A giant that somehow noticed a drone flying thousands of feet overhead.
Everything about this situation had escalated far beyond a missing caravan investigation.
Tomas folded his arms.
"We need more information."
Marcus nodded.
"Agreed."
Charging into a settlement with four hundred unknown hostiles was suicide.
It didn't matter how advanced Atlas was.
Bad intelligence got people killed.
The Predator operator's voice came through the radio again.
"Commander."
Marcus grabbed the handset.
"Go ahead."
"We're maintaining visual contact."
"Any movement?"
A pause followed.
Then:
