Then she moved down the line and killed the rest of them.
One by one.
Efficiently.
By the time she finished, the clearing was silent except for the crackling of dying fires and the distant call of birds returning to the trees.
Vera cleaned her blade again and sheathed it. She looked at her squad, who stood watching with varying expressions of discomfort and approval.
"Burn the bodies," she ordered.
"Scatter the ashes. I want no trace of this camp left."
"Yes, Captain," Senna said quietly.
Vera activated her coms.
"Report," the voice said.
"Camp neutralized," Vera said.
"Forty-three eliminated. No survivors."
"And Hale?"
"Still at large. But we have a new lead: a safe house in the old quarter."
"Follow it. Find him. The Overseer wants the resistance leadership eliminated before the Conclave next month. We can't have dissidents disrupting the ceremonies."
"Understood," Vera said.
