The man clearly in charge lifted his other arm.
Rifles slid into place along the barricade.
The cartel didn't look nervous. Didn't look eager either. Just… ready.
Like men used to winning.
Lachlan rolled his shoulders once and spat dust over the side of the truck.
"Boss," he called toward Sera without looking back at her. "You want I should tell 'em no, or you want to do the honors?"
She finally moved then, sliding out of the truck slow enough to make every rifle track her at once.
Luci dropped to the ground beside her, his lips peeled back from teeth built for ending arguments.
Sera didn't look up at the man on the barricade.
She looked at the trucks. At the guns. At the men gripping them.
Then she smiled. Small. Sharp.
"Why waste words?" she asked out loud, her voice bright and young. "Men like this only understand one language." She turned to Zubair, taking her eyes off the 'threat' in front of her. "Burn them all."
