“He will be safe,” Barbara heard Jayewardene say against the roar of the engines. “We will do what we have to do here to ensure that.”

“Yes, we will,” Barbara told him. “We will.”

“Hey, Sheeba,” Michelle said as the Angel slid into the seat next to her. The plane was almost ready to depart. “That was some impressive canoodling you and Ray were up to back at HQ.”

The Midnight Angel rolled her eyes. Michelle gave her a teasing smile, but would never admit that she was a little jealous—hell, a lot jealous—of their relationship.

Though Michelle and Billy Ray would always have a thread of tension in their interactions, she did admire how much he loved the Angel—and how willing he was to display it.

“I’m not sure about this group,” Michelle said, glancing around the plane. Bugsy, Earth Witch, Lohengrin, Tinker, and the Lama she’d done missions with before and she knew what their strengths and weaknesses were. But the new kids—Doktor Omweer, Aero, and Recycler—were unknown elements. She liked Aero. But just as Ana had said, Omweer was a boring jerk. He had barely deigned to say hello to her. Recycler seemed like a decent guy.

“Where’s Klaus?” Sheeba asked.

“He’s in the back talking to Babel on the satellite com-link. I’m not sure what else they have to talk about at this point.”

There was a knowing smile on Sheeba’s face. It took Michelle a moment before she realized what that expression meant. “Oh,” she said. “Klaus whispering sweet nothings while on a mission? Sure doesn’t seem like him.” The Angel shrugged.

“How’s your little girl?” Sheeba asked politely. Michelle felt a stab in her chest. She still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing.

“Not good,” Michelle replied. Then she explained what had happened to Adesina.

The Angel frowned. “I can’t believe you’d leave her,” she said.

“Trust me, it wasn’t my first choice,” Michelle replied with a sigh. “But Joey is with her. And Wally agreed to help out, too. I think she’s in good hands.”

The Angel’s eyes grew round, and she looked at Michelle with disbelief. “You left her with that … that savage.”

“Hey!” Michelle snapped back. “Hoodoo Mama is not a savage. She just swears a lot.” She could feel a small bubble forming in her hand. “There are only a couple of people I trust with my daughter, and she’s one of them. She’d do anything to protect her.”

“I’m sorry,” the Angel said, though she still sounded dubious. “I don’t know her, and most of what I know, I know from other people. I was unfair and un-Christian.”

The bubble floated up to the ceiling and popped. “It’s okay,” Michelle replied, relieved that things hadn’t escalated into a fight about parenting. She liked Sheeba and hated the idea that she might think of Michelle as a bad mother.