“I know you’re not going to, but if I jumped straight to that, it’d sound too aggressive. I’m going to be unusually gracious and give you this warning. Tonight is the briefing. After that, we’re going to have a war. Be as far away as possible, be crafty, and maybe they’ll run out of money to pay me before they catch up to you. If you can’t get away, put as many people you don’t give a shit about between yourself and these guys as you can. You’ve been staying in the camp for a while, that’s a good place to be.”

“She’s giving us advice?” Chris asked.

“Mastermind games,” Victoria said.

“I’m going to hold nothing back when it comes to finding you, as soon as my contract starts, and I’ll tell them exactly where you are within minutes. They’ll come after you, they’ll get you, and they’ll do things to you that make me squeamish. If your friends are in the way, Fallen boy, they’ll probably do the same to them. I could list off a hundred things I’ve seen and even done that would drive the squeamish point home, about how it’s actually pretty amazing they got me, but this doo-dad is almost out of juice, and I don’t want this recorded or overheard by our friendly clairvoyants.”

“Uuugh,” Kenzie groaned. She mashed the keyboard with her palms. “That’s what she’s doing.”

“Cost me a lot too,” Tattletale said. “Sorry Optics. Victoria? Third time I’ve been really gentle with you or your people. Kind of hope—”

Tattletale stopped. She smacked the lighter-sized jammer with her hand a few times. Looking back up to the camera, Tattletale gave it the finger, then turned to walk away.

“Thinkers are scary,” Tristan said.

“Fuck her,” Victoria said.

“Are you okay, Rain?” Sveta asked.

“Nothing about that was really news. Except just how confident she is she’ll find me.”

“I think she could say the sky is lime green with confidence,” Victoria said.

“I’m… not reassured,” Rain said.

“Whatever you want to do, we can back you,” Tristan said.

Rain, arms folded, was aware of Mama Mathers. He looked at her. He prayed for someone to notice, to put pieces together. He saw Victoria and Tristan exchange a look.

“Come home,” Mama Mathers said.

“I’m going to go back,” he said. He didn’t have much of a choice.

“We’re going to help, okay?” Tristan asked. “This thing is happening, you’ll be over there, we have people on both sides of the conflict, you on the one side, and—”

“And an agent on the other,” Rain finished, before Tristan could name names. “If that group is even part of it.”

“They are,” Kenzie said. “They’re attending the briefing. A lot of friction.”