He looked up from something he was reading; it looked to be one of the reports she was holding as well. Behind him, through the office windows, she could see the skyscrapers of Manhattan. “That the stuff about Talas?” she asked.

“Ya.” His German accent, even after years in the States, was still strong. “Jayewardene sent this to me. Said it was something to watch.” Sumting to vawtch. “I’d agree with him. Your Ink has sent you the same material?”

“She has, and I believe it’s more than just something to watch,” she told him. “We’re not getting good intel from anyone there, and we’re not going to get it until we can see what’s happening for ourselves. I think we need to go in now. Today, if possible. Half of Talas is no longer in communication with the world, and all these reports of bloodshed and violence…”

“Ah.” He leaned back in the chair. “You know how much I value your counsel, my dear.” He said it languidly, shaking his head so that his blond hair moved around his cheeks and brushed his eye patch. A hesitant smile lurked on his lips; she knew that expression—she’d seen it often enough over the years. Go ahead and tell me whatever it is you want, but I’ve already made up my mind and you’re wasting your time. That’s what that face meant.

Normally, it didn’t bother her. No couple had a perfect relationship, and certainly not them. She had her own quirks that she was certain bothered Klaus, though he rarely complained. She knew she could be too diplomatic at times, that she sometimes spoke too formally, that people often came away from her thinking her distant, aloof, and cold … and that sometimes that perception was probably correct. It didn’t bother her that Klaus’s opinion had more weight than hers with the others of the Committee and those in the UN, that it was the image of Lohengrin that came to mind whenever someone mentioned the Committee. He was the leader, the head, the face of the Committee.

But lately … She worried about Klaus, about the discomfiture she felt in him. He was only energized when he was out in the field doing something. When he was here, he was just mostly burned out and tired, and his decisions …

You know how much I value your counsel …

“But?” she interrupted, and the edge on the word vanquished Klaus’s smile. “You don’t think this important enough? Klaus, I’m worried that if we wait on this one that it’s going to escalate out of control.”