Grab a key card when you have the chance. (What am I supposed to grab it off of?)

Don’t forget about the one in his a pocket.

That done, I put a big check next to the point next to belowdecks.

“Put a check next to the one about the curtain too,” she said, and I looked up at her, eyebrow raised.

“The Lincoln assassination simulation,” she said, sounding sheepish. “I had to pass it in order to hijack your test. The Butterfly was hiding behind the curtain in Lincoln’s theater box.”

I thought about calling her out for cheating again, but honestly, what was the point? The damage was done. Together we looked down at the last few bullet points on the list, a list that I’d disregarded in my single-minded focus to level up. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“So, what now?” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “You won. Now we have to wait to see how the rest of those bullet points play out.”

Regan grimaced. “I’m not sure if I’d consider this one a win for me. I mean, you’re my new partner.”

“So?” I shot back.

“I mean, have you met you?” she asked. “When you thought that Cocoon didn’t affect you, you totally ditched me. You’re a little self-centered.”

“Driven,” I said. “The word you are looking for is driven. That Cocoon put everything I’d worked so hard for in jeopardy, so it was pretty easy to shrug off.”

“And now?” she asked.

I sighed. “And now I guess we are stuck together. Whether I like it or not.” I suddenly felt exhausted. I shut my eyes. Maybe if I didn’t look at her, she’d magically disappear.

“Hmm,” Regan murmured. “That doesn’t sound like the Elliot Mason I know. Did you hit your head a little hard when I tackled you?”

“Don’t be dumb. You know any injury in the simulation stays in the simulation,” I said, rubbing at a pain in my temples as I willed Regan to leave.

“That’s the problem,” Regan said.

I opened one eye to peer at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m dumb,” she said. “You practically said it in my mom’s office, and I know you thought it when you saw my pathetic attempt at remembering that list, and if that wasn’t bad enough, Professor Callaway practically spelled it out.” She twisted her face and puffed out her chest in a pretty spot-on imitation of Callaway. “Elliot has the academic knowledge, but Regan has the intuition.” She relaxed back into her normal posture and threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “He might as well have said Elliot has real smarts and Regan has similar talents to a really good German shepherd.”