“What enterprise?” Tristan asked.

“Poaching, animal slaughter. We sent in people from the city core who have some familiarity with them. They’re a small team but they’re smart and reliable.”

“Yeah, that’s super great,” Kenzie said. “Um, so can we go?”

“Why is this so important?” I asked. “You want to see Damsel?”

“Kind of, yeah, but also because we know how to deal with a lot of them, and because there’s no way she didn’t account for us going in the numbers, since we have to go once we hear about this, obviously.”

“Kenzie, slow down,” Sveta said. “Why do we have to go?”

“Because there’s no way we don’t go if we think Cassandra mentioning this is meant for us to hear and us going to help,” Kenzie’s voice was rapidfire. She saw Sveta motion to take a breath, and paused to do so. “And because Damsel’s there, and others we know how to beat are there too. And Damsel.”

I reached out and touched her forehead. “You’re warm. I got you sick.”

“Nope. No. I’m fine. I overheated my brain a little bit by watching all that video at once, that’s all. Really. So you don’t need to worry.”

“Kenzie. That’s far more worrying,” I told her. I looked at Golem. “Is there water?”

“On it,” Tristan said. For a split second, I thought he would absentmindedly turn into Byron and we’d have another health crisis. “Point me the way to the office cooler?”

Golem did.

“I want to call in my brownie points. Every time I’ve been good or helped or put a smile on your faces, or did what I was told, or made a machine to help Tristan talk while deep in his brother, or held back or shut up or any of that, if I got any points at all I want to spend them now and I want to go.”

“Codenames,” I told her. “Golem’s trusted, but…”

I saw her put the brakes on, which was really my point. We were being really sloppy, even with Rain’s introducing of us to Bullet Time, and Golem was trusted, but I was tired and the shitty thing was that when I was sick and tired, I became more like my mom. Rules and petty manipulations.

Her having to stop to rein herself in and check her words meant she wasn’t rambling or getting worked up.

She visibly slowed herself down, but she looked anxious.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” I told her. “We’re being pretty loose with those rules. That was a kneejerk thing from me.”

“Okay,” she said.

Tristan made it back, and handed Kenzie a glass of water, which she downed. He took a paper towel he’d wet and folded, and pressed it against her forehead while her head was tipped back to drink the water. She lowered the cup from her mouth but kept her head back, eyes closed. She sighed, full-body.

“I want to go,” she said.