“I’m going to get a repetitive stress injury if you don’t pick,” Chris said. He had a phone in hand, and he was swiping, swiping, swiping. “Kenzie’s putting something together to make it easier, so why not just wait two minutes and spare me the pain?”

“You’re not that weak,” Ashley said.

“I’m literally that weak,” Chris said. “I’m prone to just about everything, because of all the tiny flaws in how I’m put together.”

“Keep scrolling,” Ashley said.

Chris leaned back, his elbow shoving the dinner-plate sized disc that handled Kenzie’s lesser projections in the field. It moved toward the table’s edge, the lip of it extending over. “Oops.”

Kenzie’s head snapped up. Her eyes locked onto the disc. “If you knock that over, I’m going to hold you down and flash you so many times light comes out your butt.”

“Wording. Flash gun,” Chris said.

“Or I’ll use the eyehook and get inventive,” Kenzie said. She waved her hand and the eyehook that was draped over the end of her workstation made a limp shuffle forward. The combination of the weight of the hook on the end and the new position of the prehensile limb made it slide off the table, collapsing noisily in a heap on the ground.

“Nice,” Chris said.

“That was meant to be way more intimidating,” Kenzie said.

“We’ll work on that,” Ashley said.

Kenzie nodded, looking at Chris. “Keep scrolling.”

“Keep scrolling,” Ashley repeated.

“Uuggh. Maybe I should just say I’m coming, and I need to get ready, just so I don’t have to keep doing this.”

“Yeah, right,” Rain said. “Mr. Privacy is going to go up and put himself out there in front of millions.”

“I could hide my face with the projector.”

“You could, except they’re already taken. I’m using one for me so I don’t have to have my helmet on, and I’m bringing one so we can have Ashley come along.”

“You’re coming?” I asked Ashley.

“For Kenzie. Is it a problem?”

There were issues, but…

“You can tell me,” she said. “Tristan was against, Kenzie was for.”

“If she’s not going I don’t want to go,” Kenzie said.

“And…” I looked at Rain and Sveta, who were hanging back. “Where are you guys?”

“I’m obviously not going. I’m worried that if I comment or touch anything I’m going to make it worse,” Rain said. “I don’t know enough about this stuff.”

“I know just enough to say I’m worried—” Sveta said.

“Worried is a good way of putting it,” Rain cut in.

“—And I feel only dread,” Sveta finished. “Not about Ashley going. All of it.”

“We have to do something,” Kenzie said.

“I know. I even agree with Victoria. I trust her. I’m just worried this will be a disaster.”

“Agreed,” Rain said.