The morning sun brightened Grefort City and exposed what the night had hidden.
When Cell 7 first entered Golden Eagle's base, the floodlights, armored vehicles, and armed escorts had stolen most of their attention.
Everything looked sharp and controlled. It was enough to intimidate them, but not enough to let them understand the gravity of the place they had entered.
Then daylight broke their assumptions.
The base was no longer a simple survivor camp. It was an entire army that had taken root in a decrepit industrial sector, forcing civilization to start breathing again
Soldiers patrolled the streets in organized groups. Guardian APCs rolled through cleared lanes with their turrets moving in slow arcs.
Farther back, the Hellhammers had returned to their nest, silent for now, as if last night's artillery barrage had been nothing more than routine work.
To Hans's soldiers, it was normal.
To Cell 7, it was insane.
Lucie slowed down without realizing it.
