They burst out of the smoke into clean noon like a fish breaching.
The world went bright and ugly again. For a moment there was no one in front of them at all.
"Left," Elias said, because he trusted his instincts and the map more than a miracle. "Three more pickups. One with men in the bed. One empty. One with a tarp."
"Tarp," Alexei said, pleased. "Interesting toy to bring to this fight."
The tarp blew back in its own hurry to be part of the drama.
Under it: a winch welded to the floor with a cable around it thick as a man's thumb. The thing was massive, probably taken from the same tow truck that gave the throwers their cables. It was made to lift heavy things… and Zubair had a feeling he knew what the plan was.
Afterall, it was obvious. Lasso the target, catch it, and haul it back in.
He sighed, a tiny sound of disappointment… like a craftsman being asked to tolerate duct tape as a fix instead of just doing it right.
