Raizen waited until the guards' voices faded back into the engine hum. Then he leaned toward Saffi, his lips close to her ear.
"We have what we need. We scouted the zone, and saw what this is about. Let's go."
Saffi didn't argue. She shifted her weight, tested her grip, and they started moving - retracing their path along the underside of the platform, back toward the trunk they came from. The bark hadn't gotten any less slick, and his fingers hadn't gotten any less numb, but the route was a bit more familiar now. He knew which roots held and which ones didn't. He knew where the ridges narrowed and where the bark could peel away.
They were maybe a third of the way back when the light appeared.
It came from above - warm, bright. A guard's flashlight. Then voices. Close. Not the distant murmur from the aircraft, but footsteps directly overhead, boots on stone, and the low, clipped exchange of men doing another security sweep.
