The warehouse district was easing into late afternoon. The sounds from the loading bays had begun to fade, and the crowds had thinned to workers heading toward meals and heated rooms. Beorn walked through the last stretch of the workday with four guards following at the same distance they had maintained since morning. He didn't bother checking on them. Their duty hadn't changed. They would still be there.
The building he had selected for the textile project was near the wall. From the outside it looked like an ordinary storage warehouse. The only sign of its actual purpose was the secondary belt housing fixed to the south wall, where a line-shaft connection entered from the engine system.
He pushed through the door.
One guard took position inside by the entrance. The others remained outside.
