The last assisted transport cleared the exposed approach before the closure team committed.
Kellan heard the driver confirm the turning point, checked it against Rafi’s location report and repeated the departure to the gate lead. He did not say every person in East Market was accounted for with absolute certainty. He said the agreed premises had been checked through local contacts, the known assisted passengers had left and the route no longer held the crowd they had first seen.
“Medical teams are outside the exposed street,” Tessa added. “Receiving point remains on the safer side.”
The closure lead acknowledged both reports. The operation would proceed under the team’s own safety authority, with a warning if conditions at the gate changed beyond what it could manage.
Eli listened from the communications table. Anchor remained unavailable under his current care advice. So did Sight. No one had built the closure plan around a brief intervention he might be tempted to provide. His work was ordinary and shared, which did not make the waiting feel less sharp.
Mira stood near Sera’s map with her hands still. She had stopped urging them faster once the final transport began moving. Eli could not tell whether the silence meant relief or attention to something she could feel and would not explain.
