I watch Vince leave. I guess that's a good reason to get up and get to work.

It's nice actually being able to take care of myself again. I can just spend an hour making sure everything is perfect, hiding my age and everything that comes with it beneath yet another mask of fabricated indifference.

I definitely take more time than I should have preparing, but I think I've earned it. There's still time to get caught up with Jade before work starts. I grab some of the snacks we have stashed in here, sling my rifle across my back, and head downstairs. Too many people want to talk to us, I'm not interested in getting caught in the breakfast rush.

I head straight for the range, ignoring everyone. The place is mostly abandoned, but even this early Jade stands behind the counter. The door next to her clicks as the lock is disengaged. I let myself in.

Jade slides a heavy metal curtain closed over the window, buying us privacy. She wordlessly grabs my chin. I let her turn my head, inspecting me from every angle. I already know what she's going to say.

"How many years?" She asks.

"Didn't quite make it to five."

"When?"

"Not since I left Mara's trench." I answer. "Almost three weeks."

"How much?"

"Half a vial."

Jade steps back and shakes her head. My eye makes sure I see every detail, highlighting exactly how disappointed she is.

"Let me see your arms."

I drop my jacket and hold my arms out for her to inspect.

"It was all in the right one." I say.

"I see that." She nods, and I put my jacket back on, hiding my shame. "Daily inspections." She stresses.

"I know." I want nothing more than to reassure her that I don't need it, that it was a one time mistake in a moment of weakness. That'd be lying to both of us though. Even now I want nothing more than another hit. I dug those hooks even deeper in, I know myself enough to know I wouldn't get out without the help.

"Good." She steps forward and pulls me into a tight hug. "I'm glad you're back."

"Believe me, I am too." I let myself relax into her arms. "Vince and I were stuck in her trench for a long time. I still shouldn't have done it, and it's my fault, but it wasn't exactly unprompted."

I feel her nod. She doesn't even need to say anything, I've heard it all before. Far more times than I wish, but probably not as much as I should have.

"What all did I miss?" I ask.

"Top floor's calmed down." She lets go of me, opens the shutter, and steps out into the range. "Might actually survive a run."

"Really?" Both of us collect a set of air weapons and claim two open isles. "How'd Samuel pull that off?"

"He didn't. Kid made a friend, and when he didn't come back, he started taking things seriously." We both spread our weapons out, preparing our standard route.

"Who did we lose?"

"Ryan."

"That's a bad trade. Pull." Both of us scoop up our pistols and run our drill.

It's nice to practice again, I certainly need it. I've gotten sloppy, Jade handily wins every single round. It's just that my body is failing me, moving far too slowly and every muscle exerting itself far more than it did before. That's alright though, I'll recover soon enough. I just need to make sure that soon enough is before whatever happens when we go to meet C-1.

Nobody disturbs the two of us, but a crowd does slowly form. Brayden eventually manifests through the crowd, putting an end to our game. Jade doesn't say anything as she collects our weapons, and returns behind her desk.

"Alright, let's see what Samuel drilled into you. Stance."

The kid steps forward silently, shoulders his weapon, and freezes.

So something did get through his thick head. His back foot is finally in the right place, and his rifle is both stable and accurate enough.

"Good. Run the drill." I hit a few buttons on the wall next to him, and a number of targets appear on the back wall.

A fair portion of his shots find home. He's not a good shot by any means, but he's at least adequate. I wouldn't trust anyone's lives in his hands, but it's a decent foundation to build off of.

I run him through every drill I have, keeping him for hours even beyond what is required of me. He never once complains, and never asks for anything more than an occasional clarification. For the first half I don't even correct anything, just try to get a feel for what Samuel drilled into him.

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He's still got a lot to work on, but takes my adjustments to heart. I correct his elbow and he makes a genuine effort to ensure it stays corrected for once.

"That's enough. Let me see a full teardown and clean." It's late by the time I finally give him permission to stop shooting. Still, he didn't complain no matter how many hours I kept him.

His hands are clumsy while he takes apart the air gun, but he at least knows where each part goes and what parts would get dirty on a real gun. Only when the thing is spotless does he put it back together. He even runs a quick drill to ensure the thing is functional, all on his own.

"You did good today. Come on, let's get dinner." I turn and head out, watching him in a distant reflection to follow.

"Yes ma'am." He says dutifully and follows behind me.

"Ugh, don't give me that. We're both off work. You want to hold your own? Talk back? Hit me? Go for it, it won't affect training." Let's see what he does with that. I step out into the soft afternoon light, and head straight for the canteen. "In fact, I'd encourage it."

"Alright." Whatever confidence he had is instantly gone, but he keeps following.

We've caught the tail end of the dinner rush. Most of the good food is already gone, but even the leftovers are better than what we used to have. I grab a plate and find an open table, waiting patently for Brayden to take the set across from me.

"So. I heard about Ryan." It's always best to just rip the bandaid off right away. "I'm sorry. We all know far too well what it's like to lose someone."

He nods and picks at his food, but stays silent. I just wait, it's plain to see he still has stuff he needs to say, I just have to give him time.

"If I tried harder, would you have sent me out before now?" He eventually asks.

Glad he's so easy to read. His every movement is drenched in undeserved guilt. Would have figured lying and hiding were the only skills they taught in the top floors. Either I'm wrong, or that's why he got kicked out.

"No. You've still got a lot to learn. Months of work, at minimum, before we even think about sending you out."

He nods, the words exactly what he wanted to hear, and takes his first bite of food.

"Seems like Samuel taught you well." I say. "You're stuck with me for a week, and then you'll be back with him."

"You're leaving again?" He glances up, his eyes taking in my wounds. I ignore my eye telling me just how much disbelief is in his face. Guess I have another person I need to teach not to underestimate me. His disbelief is tinged with fear. Aww, so he does care about me. Or is just traumatized. I'd give it a fifty-fifty chance either way.

"Sure. Not sure how long I'll be gone though. Could be a day, could be a while." Ah, here's my answer. His heartbeat spikes at the very idea of my death. "You ever lost anyone on the top floors?"

He just shakes his head and pins his eyes back on his food.

What, did he think it'd be all fun and games out here?

"It doesn't get easier, but you do get used to it. Piece of advice? Silver says what they do for a reason. We all know the risks every time we go out. Don't forget him, don't let his death be in vain. You want to honor him? You work your ass off and be there to save the next person who gets in an impossible situation. You don't shut down. You don't give up. You go out there, you find some friends, you drink to his memory, you accept that nothing you've done could have changed anything, and you do more where you can. Nothing else to do, and nothing else you can do."

"I don't want to die."

"Why'd you get into this business then? I only ever heard the broad strokes." That's a lie, but one he needs to talk about.

"Father only needed one of us." He says.

"What, couldn't be bothered to kill you himself? Now that you've learned fucking around won't get you sent home, let's make sure he lives to regret that." That breathes a little life into him.

"How?"

"Actually live. Can't imagine they do much of that on the top floors. Can't have real friends if everyone is constantly trying to get one up on the other." My eye runs through recordings, finding every single time I've seen Ryan, and cataloging his friends. Reflections across the canteen let me take in everyone's faces. There's a group at a table he hung out with occasionally. They're good people. That's good enough for me. "Grab your food and come here."

I lead him towards that group. He looks lost following behind me, but that's good. A little pity goes a long way.

"Hey, everyone." I shamelessly interrupt their conversation. "Brayden here got close with Ryan, and hasn't had the chance to properly mourn him. Do me a favor and give the kid a night to remember him by, on my tab." I grab some Arcs and toss them in the center of the table.

"Well, I'd never say no to partying on someone else's tab." Deckard tweaks his head. "Sit down kid, we're not going to bite."

I give a thankful smile from behind Brayden's back and head for the door. That's taken care of, just one more thing to do. I head downstairs to the lab and let myself in.

The place overwhelms my eye. There's just too much to take in. Endless crap spread around the tables, each piece of glass reflecting the room over again.

A large screen flickers on and a cute drawn girl jumps to life, her curly green hair bouncing as she moves.

"Hello! My name's Canary! It's nice to meet you! Hummingbird will be out in just a moment!"

Canary? Did Blue finally get through to Trochilidae? I'll need to keep her out of here in that case. Last thing she needs to know is that she got another person killed.

"Thank you." I just wait around, trying to take stock of the entire room. It's only a few seconds before the door opens.

"Ivy! Welcome. Tro- Canary! Off!" The screen instantly goes blank. "Good, I'd been hoping to see you before Blue. Your bot broke her, she's your problem now." Hummingbird confidently marches forward and places a drive in my hand.

"What, you didn't just delete Trochilidae the moment she became sentient?"

"I'm not looking to get killed by Blue. She's your problem, deal with her however you will. I don't care."

"That's fair." She'd definitely be able to do it if she wanted to at this point. I'm not even sure she'd feel all that bad. I slide her into my pocket, there's no rush to worry Blue with her existence before dealing with C-1. "What have you figured out about C-1?"

"Well, when I started poking around, I got a very gentle warning, the equivalent of an icepick being driven into the center of my brain. He certainly exists, and I'm not poking around again. I'm not dying because you brought an AI home."

"Sure." I shrug. If he didn't kill Hummingbird, we have an awful lot of leeway. Just how scared is he of burning this bridge? "Glad you didn't die."

"Same goes for you! I'm glad you, Cassie, and Vince returned."

"Uh-huh. I'll talk to you later."

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