Kori walked to the door.
Behind her, on the couch, the slate Raizen had brought home was still on the cushion, buzzing.
She ignored it.
Kori stepped outside, only to see that the street was full of Wardens.
So full, actually, you couldn't take five steps without bumping into one. At least seven units on the same street. A patrol unit had stopped outside her house, its lights still cycling, two Wardens on foot working a perimeter sweep. Beyond them, the wider artery was choked with vehicles - the long ribbon of emergency lights she had seen from the roof now resolved at street level into a living current of patrol cars, motorcycles, and tactical vans converging on the eastern district. The air smelled of brake dust and ozone. Somewhere overhead, a drone passed in a hard arc that didn't slow.
"Gosh, you lot are so useless…" Kori whispered as she crossed to the nearest officer
