The convoy moved through the city without stopping.
Noah sat in the back seat with Aiden beside him, while Matthew occupied the front passenger seat. Leon followed in the second vehicle with Vinny, Lily and Isabella. Two federal vehicles maintained position behind them.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Noah kept watching the streets through the window.
He had spent so long in that hospital room that the ordinary world looked strangely unfamiliar. People walked to work carrying coffee. Children waited at bus stops. Cars stopped at intersections. A woman hurried across the street with an umbrella even though the rain had already stopped.
Normal life.
It felt almost offensive.
After everything that had happened, the world had simply continued.
Aiden noticed him staring.
"You okay?"
Noah nodded.
"Just thinking."
"That's dangerous."
Noah glanced at him.
"You stole my line."
"I improved it."
A faint smile appeared.
It disappeared when Noah's eyes returned to the window.
