“What would have happened, if Mia had killed me in the dream?” I ask him.

“If she was lucid and knew you weren’t a part of the dream? She could have found a way to kill you there that would have been … permanent.”

“I could have died?” I want to throw my glass at him. “I didn’t sign up for death.”

His eyes spark at that. “This whole thing started with a death. With your sister killing a Ratel hitman.”

“Accused of killing.”

He makes a noise deep in his throat. “You still so very sure she didn’t do it?”

I say nothing. I’m not sure why I still defend her, when her chances of innocence seem to dwindle the more we follow the clues. If she did kill him, though, I have to cling to the fact that murder and self-defense are two very different things.

“You knew this would be dangerous going in. You knew full well death could always be a possibility, and don’t pretend you didn’t. You’re going into the underworld of San Francisco, Taema, you can’t have expected not to get your hands dirty.”

I glare at him, and he glares right back.

“Here’s how it’ll go,” I say. “When we do something, you tell me what kind of danger we’re facing. Don’t just let me barrel into it headfirst without knowing what the hell I’m up against. OK?”

He’s the first to look away to take another swig. “Deal. If it’s any comfort, I didn’t think today would be dangerous. It wouldn’t have been if it was Zeal and not Verve, because Zeal is so much more static when you’re in someone else’s dream.”

“What a lovely surprise for us.”

“It means we have a problem, though.”

“Don’t we already have lots of problems?” The SynthGin has made me irritating, but I can’t seem to stop the sarcasm.

“If the Ratel have spiked the Zeal with Verve, they’re going to try and eavesdrop on the dreams.”

Oh God. “And if they have a lucid dreamer see Mia’s dreams, then our whole cover is blown.”

“Exactly.”

“We’re screwed then.”

“Not necessarily. One: the other Zeal lounge they spiked, the one I was security for? It didn’t work. They couldn’t get the levels right; no one could mine even a millisecond of a dream. Second: they might not be recording the dreams, but trying to find lucid dreamers based on physiological reactions. That might mean that Mia comes to their attention, but they’ll likely discount her because of her ill health.”

I can’t banish the mental image of Mia sobbing. “She’s afraid of someone. She told them about Tila. She could be in contact with the Ratel already.”