Rumi slashed the hooked cable loose from the doorway and crouched on the exterior ramp above six strangers.
Behind her, Hajin's voice bounced down the service run, cursing his patch while Ferra cursed him back even louder.
"They brought rope," Nari murmured beside her, ears pinned flat, "lots of rope, with hooks on the ends."
"Rude, nobody brings hooks to a polite visit."
The leader stood in front with a crank spool strapped across his chest and hooked cable coiled over both shoulders. Behind him, a custodian swayed helplessly with her wrists lashed together, the leash looped tight around the leader's big fist.
'Kerris sent shoppers, and they brought somebody's aunt along as the receipt.'
Nari thumbed her dagger loose from its sheath without looking down, "Inside or out?"
"Out, way out, nobody bleeds near the run while they're cutting the old spine."
"Then I take the back of the line, and you take the loud one."
