Best to leave it alone, at least till I was calmer. Best to count what I hadn’t lost, along with Rousseau’s trust and respect. Stuff could be consoling. Like, I had the fancy pack again, and had toted up some solid credits. Most important, the book, the documents, were still my private treasures.

Down in Main, itchy and irritable, I tossed the jeans and tees onto the swap shelf. They’d have fit me, being the ninja girl’s. If Rousseau wanted me dressing better, he should’ve let me have one of those!

Fuck it, I thought, and went looking for Rubio. I could share some of my peeve with him, maybe work the worst of it out. The skylight was a timeless gray and Main was buzzing again. The continuing storm alert had day-shifters crowding the weather board, checking on their next day’s call. Night-shifters milled about by habit, not quite believing they were off the hook till morning. Sorting out a double morning shift had the job clerks backed up and more irritable than ever. On my way to search for Rube in the Mess, I found Jenn observing the chaos with the bemused grin of one who didn’t have to deal with it anymore.

“Hanging out down here just to make us pickers feel bad?”

“Just done eating.” Jenn was cheerful and her shiny bowl of hair looked freshly washed. “But was it breakfast or dinner?”

“Everything’s upside down. The picking might be easier, but what makes them think it’s any safer out there in daylight?” I noticed Jenn’s duds were less fluttery, more trim than her usual. Working on a new look, now she was posted to Media? “Rube in the Mess?”

“Didn’t see him. Check his bunk?”

“Good point.”

“But . . .” Jenn’s half shrug said Rubio was not usually her concern. “When you find him, tell him to keep an extra-low profile.”

I sighed. “Now what?”

She jutted her chin toward a loud huddle over by the stairs. Canoe crew and enforcers, the raised-fist boys, in deep discussion. “Someone got the idea that Rubio tipped them off.”

“Tipped who off?”

“The snipers.”

“WHAT?” I could hardly catch my breath. “No way! Why would they ever think . . . ?”

“They aren’t looking for logic, they’re looking for blame. Because . . .” She beckoned me closer. “When they got carried away, they went charging off where they shouldn’t.”

“Yeah, Rousseau just told me that.”

“Well, it was BlackAdder’s turf.”

Inevitable, though he hadn’t mentioned it. “He should ground them.”

“Can you see that happening?” Jenn’s mouth twisted. “Like, how much control does he really have over them? People are wondering.”

“But, Rubio? That’s just crazy! Who’d believe he’d have anything to do with BlackAdder? How would he talk to them? How would he even find them?”

She shrugged. “Like I said, logic is not the rule of the day.”