“It’s what we expected, with a couple of unwanted surprises along the way, obviously,” Victoria answered, checking her laptop, then stretching a bit as she turned away from it. “I’d hoped for a bit of a healthier balance of positivity to negativity.”

“It’s only one good message for every twelve bad, I think, but the number should improve as the night goes on,” Sveta injected a note of hope into her voice.

“It might, and only up to a point,” Chris said. “The bad is going to keep outnumbering the good.”

“Thank you, Chris,” Sveta was a bit sarcastic.

Victoria seemed to mostly ignore them, fixing her attention on Natalie. “This is what we wanted.”

Was it? How?

But Natalie didn’t miss those fleeting moments, when Victoria was mid-stretch or talking about how this was expected or wanted, when she looked a lot like Carol had a few times back at the Wardens’ office. Not happy, far from happy in this case, but fully confident.

“Yeah,” Sveta said.

“I hope it keeps that course then,” Natalie said. The words felt hollow when she still wasn’t sure about it all.

Victoria smiled. She turned to Kenzie, who had stopped bustling and rummaging and now stood still. “Are you ready?”

“Got my stuff,” Kenzie said. She had a very full cloth shopping bag full of junk, slung over one shoulder. She’d grabbed a bag of snacks.

“Alright,” Natalie said. She put a hand on Kenzie’s shoulder, guiding her to the door. “Good night, Breakthrough.”

Victoria smiled in response, while it was Sveta’s turn to look wearier as she smiled as well.

Because Natalie had addressed them as ‘Breakthrough’?

Emboldened, Natalie added, “Keep me on speed dial, in case there are issues. After shows with that ideological a bent, people sue, threaten, or otherwise use lawyers to try to bully or influence the narrative. Cries for censorship, cries against. Don’t respond and don’t panic. Call me and let me call the people who can handle it.”

“Got it,” Victoria answered her, all tired seriousness. “You have Gil’s number?”

“Gil? Oh, Gilpatrick? Yes.”

“Drive safe. I’ll be patrolling, burning off restless energy, starting when the messages start slowing down.”

“Next month then?” Chris asked.

“Go home, Chris,” Victoria said. “We’re done for the day, and you’ll be missed if you’re out too late.”

“Mmf.”

Natalie turned away from everything, stepping back outside.

All of the tech stuff went into the back seat of Natalie’s Beetle, seats folded forward to provide access. Nowhere near as much space as Tristan’s truck, which she had driven earlier. Feeling how cold the car was as she leaned into the back to set the bag down, Natalie was sure to grab a blanket while she was in the back seat.