“Mmmm. Hadn’t thought of that. A brave den girl with a cell phone. Possible. She popped up once this morning before the storm took everything down. Short clips of guys shooting high-tech guns, like military practice, only no uniforms.”

I grinned.

“What?”

“I love how you always notice what anyone’s wearing.”

Jenn frowned. “Don’t laugh. These guys were serious. And you could tell she didn’t want them seeing her recording them.”

“Could you tell where it was?”

She gave a worried shrug. “Uptown. Pretty sure this time. Like, Fort Tryon Park? There were some trees, and you could see the river in the background.”

Even uptown felt too close to home for heavy-duty weapons training. “Did you share this with Rousseau?”

“No. You think I should?”

“Well, yeah. I think it’s why he put you up there. The Wizzers don’t remember real news reporting. They’d likely see it as an adventure vid or a game, like those dickbrain lads watching old riot clips. But you can sort out the real from the fake.”

“Sometimes.”

But she seemed cheered by the idea of having a serious assignment. She set her brush aside. “Speaking of dickbrains, you went way too easy on Rubio earlier. Are you okay?”

“Still smarting a bit,” I admitted.

“Don’t know why you let him be such an asshole!”

Smarting aside, I didn’t see it that way. “Because Rube is a problem solver. It’s like when he criticizes the den. It hurts, but he’s trying to help, to make things better.”

Jenn rolled her eyes, then yawned. “And look where that’s got him.”

She had me yawning too. I patted her knee. “Thanks for the meds.”

—

Back in my bunk, I hauled the drapes tight to say: Do Not Disturb. A long breath later, Rubio came knocking, soft and apologetic.

“I’m sleeping,” I said.

“Clearly, you are not.”

“But I need to be. Now.”

He was quiet a minute, to see if I’d relent. Then he said, “I need to know if we’re okay.”

“We’re fine. Or we will be, once I figure out how to forgive you for dropping a bomb on me without a bit of warning, especially when you have no proof.”

“Momentum of the moment.”

I yawned noisily. “Jenn’s right. You are entirely full of shit.”

“Did she say that?”

“In so many words.”

“Sounds like forgiveness to me. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

And the next day, and the next, I was sure. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Glim, you can’t avoid . . .” Another pause. “Okay. Never mind. Later.”

I was asleep before the tier stopped vibrating with his descent.

—