The coalition representative named the payment before he named the danger.
Kellan asked him to repeat it. The figure would cover the clinic’s current supply budget for months, replace the team’s borrowed equipment, and leave enough for training. It was larger than any guaranteed fee Eli had seen since waking on awakening day.
“Half on departure,” the representative said. “Half when the core reaches the transfer point.”
“Guaranteed?” Kellan asked.
“Subject to the conditions in the agreement.”
“Then let’s read those.”
They sat at a table behind the food tent. The festival’s music carried across the field, interrupted by the clatter of a cart being unloaded. The representative introduced himself as Cairn and laid out the contract and route map.
The core was sealed in a reinforced container on a guarded trolley beside the vehicle. The coalition wanted a small independent team to accompany it through the district to a transfer point beyond the river. The guards would control the vehicle and the cargo. Eli’s team would inspect the route, support the escort, and respond to gate-related hazards.
