They gathered in a tight circle, crouching low among the trees.
Sira pulled out the mission paper, flipping it over to use the blank side. With a stick, she sketched a rough map in the dirt.
"They went northeast," she said. "That slope leads toward the river. If they're smart, they'll follow it downstream, it's easier terrain."
Kyle leaned in, eyes scanning the marks. "What we do then?"
"We move with them." She continued. "Parallel, keeping pace without closing the distance."
"How?" Tobias frowned. "We don't know where they're going."
"Doesn't matter." Sira tapped the dirt with her stick. "The extraction point is southwest of here. They have to loop back eventually. If we move fast and parallel to them, we can intercept before they reach it."
Emma watched quietly, eyes flicking between the lines.
"What if we miss them?" she asked, voice soft. "If they change direction again?"
Sira looked at her for a moment, then nodded once. "Then we track them."
