“Is it really? She works hard, she’s very fond of them.”

“And in the past week, there hasn’t been a waking hour where she wasn’t idly penetrating systems, gathering data, watching someone through a camera she’d gained access to, or figuring out how to sort the data she did collect. This morning there was a two hour span where she did none of that… as far as cameras and general surveillance of her activity could tell.”

“She’s in trouble because she didn’t spy and gather data?”

“She did, but she did too good a job of covering it up, Victoria. Dragon noticed the discrepancy and did a more intensive investigation. She found out what you two were really doing.”

I frowned, eyes dropping to the ground. “Every hour? Really? I would have thought it was a few times a day. Half a dozen at most.”

“Dragon’s notes say it was what you say, a week ago. This week…”

I nodded. “Why tell me that? You could have kept it in the back pocket and kept more of an eye on her and us.”

“Because we don’t intend to make the same mistake again, nor to extend the same benefit of a doubt.”

I set my jaw.

She went on, “First thing this morning, Defiant made you an offer. You could work with the Wardens and accept our rules, or you could go your own way and we wouldn’t be supporting you in the same ways. Should we revisit the question? You don’t seem willing to accept our requests.”

I sighed. “Felt and feels like the rules were explicitly to deny us the support the Wardens are supposedly offering.”

“Your teammate’s life was saved earlier by a Warden. Slician saved Sveta.”

“Would Sveta have been there, in that specific circumstance, dealing with Fallen who hate her on principle in front of her, and ex-Irregular Case Fifty-Threes behind her, if she wasn’t helping you?”

“You mean would she be keeping an eye on the Red Queen, Victoria? If you’d taken the other path first thing this morning, parting ways with the Wardens, and word got around that Amy Dallon was making giant clones with the limiters taken off their powers, I think Sveta would be joining you in investigating or taking some other related action. She would be there because you would almost certainly have been involved.”

“Maybe I could have saved her in Slician’s place, then.”

“Maybe. But we’re so far down the road of maybes I don’t think it’s productive. We are providing you with support. Medical care and support for Byron, assistance for your team, communication with other teams, shelter, and networks. I know you visited Anelace, Clockblocker, Kid Win, and Vista, earlier.”

Anelace. Damn. I felt the skin of my face and ears heat up a fraction.