I elbow. “Shut it with that. It’s not a joke to them, really.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” He rubs the spot I nabbed.

“I don’t want to be insensitive or offend anyone, you know?”

“I feel that. You a whole boss, though.” He reaches for my hand and I let him. “Respect.” He squeezes, and I hold there a second without thinking. I snap to my senses and pull away.

The route we used to get to Totsi’s would require us to go back through that fallen building and that’s not going to work. Even if we don’t run into a trap, going through that hole one by one would take forever. So we venture around the District, which will make the route much longer, but hopefully safer.

We dip out of Totsi’s, our footsteps echoing like a drumbeat on the pavement. I cringe at every step, because it feels like we’re super loud, like someone-going-through-the-kitchen-cabinets-while-you-sleep loud. Running into any traps out here would be detrimental. With this many people, we’re an easy target. Maybe we can make camp in one of the underground tunnel access points around the City. Zora’s got them mapped from the time the Yakanna spent trying to find which led to the Capital. It’s not a perfect plan. But it’s the one I got.

The road T-bones into an intersection, and all eyes are on me to decide which way we go.

“We could go that way,” Grag says as if he can hear my mind tinkering. Taavi insisted he come along. “There’s a passageway behind Boul Street, near Cresus Circle, where all the…”

“Jewelry shops, yeah, I know the way. And you’re sure it’s safer?”

“Sure as I can be. I missed the last briefing meetup since I just hooked back up with Taavi and the group.”

Do I trust him? Not entirely. But his life is on the line out here too. “Thanks.”

I brief Zora and Bri on the plan, and they both seem good with it. Taavi defers to Grag, and we set in that direction. Bri, Jue, and I walk near the front. He’s taken another dose of Defense Boost just in case. I also gave him one of Bri’s gadgets that works like a stun gun.