After half the EDA vanished over the horizon traveling to the far North, the rest of them turned to look at Mike for direction.

"I'm gonna give it to you guys straight. I just fought for my life yesterday and . . . had to kill a lot of people . . . again. My disposition ain't particularly leader-like at the moment. I promise I'll be a proper hardass tomorrow. As for today . . . let's do some 'self-directed training' time. No one gets out of hand and things will be smooth like butter for all of us. How's that sound?"

Sitting off to one side, Joe cleared his throat. "I'm walking, Mike. You can kill me if that's what you've got to do. It's war time and I'm deserting, so I wouldn't blame you. Trying to lock me up won't do any good. I'm not going to change my mind and the EDA doesn't have enough staff to play jail. I'm sorry. I know I begged to be part of this. It's just . . . I killed that girl yesterday. Maybe I saved a hundred people. Maybe even a thousand. Doesn't matter to me. I went into law enforcement to make a difference and help people. I can't wrap my head around slaughtering a few innocent people like it's a math problem. Kill three, save a thousand? No. I can't do this anymore. I'm out."

Mike closed his eyes for a moment. "I get it, Joe. Let's play it like this. I'm going to put you on medical leave for mental health. You pack your bags, go home, maybe see a therapist. I don't know what the Imperator will do when she returns. Might drag you back. Might let you go. Might put you in a grave."

"I guess we'll see," Joe said. "Sorry, everyone. I just can't do this anymore."

As Joe went to pack, Jess stared daggers at Mike. He sighed. "Are you planning to leave, too?"

"I might after I talk to Srinivas," she said.

"It's either you leave now or you take it up with the Imperator. I'm going to have a hard enough time justifying my decision as a one-time thing. It can't be two separate incidents. Make your choice, soldier."

Jess hesitated a moment, then stomped her foot and turned to look out the window.

"You're staying?"

"For now," she muttered.

"Don't change your mind and go AWOL," he responded. When the atmosphere remained tense after a few moments, Mike rubbed his head. "Then all of you pretend to be busy so I can pretend to believe you are productive."

Jimmy slapped him on the back. "Hate to spring this on you after all the drama, but the two of us have an urgent need to fly over to Philly to pick up a bus. Today. By noon. I have a check in my pocket."

"Shouldn't be a problem, Jimmy. Give me fifteen minutes and we can be airborne."

As his buddy wandered away muttering about finding the motorcycle helmet, Varanelli put on a forced smile. "Your dad called the EDA line looking for you."

Mike grunted. "Bio-dad or stepdad?"

"Bio. He wants to talk to you."

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"Fine. Next time he calls, set up a time for us to meet."

"I'm not your secretary, Ski," she snapped. Then, "Fine. Do you have a time of day that would work best for you?"

"Time of day doesn't matter. I'm not going to meet him."

"So you want me to set up a meeting you have no intention of going to?"

Mike nodded. "It's a tradition with us. Set up a meeting, one of us no-shows."

"I'll just tell him you don't want to see him." Varanelli squinted at him. "What if it had been your step-dad? Would you have met up with him just to kick his ass?"

"Naw," Mike said. "Did that quite decisively when I was seventeen. The man hasn't spoken to me since. No big loss."

As Varanelli turned to leave, he reached out to grab her arm. "Hey, Varanelli. Got a question for you."

She folded her arms. "If it's about me and Jimmy, sorry not sorry. I know it might be awkward, but I really like him, Ski. And he likes me. I have been striking out my whole life and all of a sudden I fall into the perfect relationship. I'm not going to stop seeing him."

Mike held up a hand. "Hold it right there, battle buddy. I couldn't be happier that you finally found a real man instead of those idiot boy-toys. This is literally the only guy you've brought home that I approve of."

"Oh." Varanelli put a hand to her heart. "That is such a relief. I thought . . . I don't know, you might not want Jimmy to settle for . . . me."

"Settle? What the hell is that, Varanelli? You might not be my type, but as your room-mate, I can attest you have been a hot commodity for plenty of men."

Varanelli winced. "Lots of guys coming back to my place is part of the problem."

"Only if it bothers Jimmy. Which I can't see happening. Jimmy has a ridiculous amount of self-confidence. He would just assume he was better than all your previous lovers combined."

"I don't really want to share too much personal information, but . . . ."

"Uh, no. Let's stop there, Varanelli. Before all this silliness, I had something I wanted to bring up with you."

She squinted at him for a moment. "You want to date someone." As he winced, she nodded. "I knew it was time. I just hope it's not Sam. She's a kid, Ski."

"Good God, it ain't Sam. Or anyone in particular, really. I just . . . kinda don't want to be alone anymore." Mike took a deep breath before plowing forward. "I promise I will never stop loving Susie."

"Ski. I want you to find someone who makes you happy. I've wanted that for a long time. The two of us are a horrible mismatch as best friends, I admit it. We don't have very much in common and tend to annoy the shit out of each other. It doesn't really matter. We went through so much together that nothing is going to come between us."

Tension melted out of Mike's shoulders. "Thanks, Varanelli. I think I needed to hear that I wouldn't have to lose my best friend if I started dating."

She smiled. "Who is it?"

"No one."

"Ski. Spill."

Mike glanced around to ensure they were alone. "I had a bit of a thing for the boss for a while. Turns out it wasn't mutual."

The smile on Varanelli's face became forced. "Cassandane is a psycho, Mike."

"I think 'psycho' may be an exaggeration, but it's not important because she said no."

"Good. You can do better. I was serious the other day when I said I wouldn't mind if you hooked up with Erica Spencer. She didn't deserve all the hate we directed at her. She's a decent person."

Mike directed his most stern look at Varanelli. "As much as I love the direction you're taking the conversation, I've got to pick up a bus."