Johannes considered Evelyn's thoughts.
A well-armed platoon with two vehicles—one of them an APC mounted with a strange caliber gun.
Elias would never have that level of arsenal, nor the deserted soldiers he had gathered.
"Who are you people?" he asked after a long pause. "Why are you here? Why this route?"
Dmitri let the question hang while he checked the road behind him, then looked back to the shadows above.
"This route wasn't operational until recently," he said. "No long-term footprint."
He spread his hands slightly, not to surrender, but to show clarity.
"We're heading east. Your troubles are not of our concern."
"What task?" Johannes probed.
"Classified," Dmitri replied.
"That's what I thought," Johannes muttered.
Dmitri spoke again before the silence stretched any longer.
"If you let us be, we'll go our separate ways."
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Johannes's words caught everyone off guard.
