For someone who makes more in a year than I’d make in my entire life up to that point, Cora was sure making a fuss about the invoice. 

“What are you, my mother? Look, I need a rifle quick, and it’s not like I don’t have the cash. This sucker is about as good as it gets without custom ordering something, and we don’t have time for that. Remember: this thing could end up saving your life. Would you rather I cut corners?”

“Well when you put it like that, you should have paid more,” Cora grumped. 

I couldn’t really fault her for being grumpy. Our borrowed Ford’s air conditioning was on its last leg, and the oppressive heat and humidity was starting to wear on the both of us. I had the windows down, and we were doing the better part of 80 miles an hour on the interstate, but the steady flow of high speed air barely made a dent in the discomfort. It was almost 11 now, and the temperature was already kissing 90 degrees Fahrenheit. How much is that in Celcius? No clue. I can use metric well enough for distance and mass, but I never learned how to convert temperatures. 

“You think this car is bugged?” I asked. 

Cora turned to look at me, her face impassive. It was hard to tell what was going through her mind behind her aviator sunglasses. The damn things seemed to cover half her face. 

“Probably not, why?” she replied. 

“Got a personal question for you,” I said. “And since there’s a decent chance I won't get to ask before tonight’s mission, I figure now is as good a time as any.”

“I can’t promise I’ll answer, but go ahead and ask,” she said, her face as still as a statue.

“Fine. What’s your beef with me? You’ve been busting my balls since Edgar brought me onboard, and don’t give me that ‘I’m just playing’ crap. I know the difference between horsing around and going for blood.”

Something in her jaw twitched. 

“It’s nothing personal,” she said, shrugging with feigned nonchalance. 

“Kinda feels personal,” I replied. 

I wanted to turn and stare, to try and read her better, but we were nearing Charlotte, and the traffic didn’t allow me to take my eyes off the road for more than a few seconds at a time. 

“Hey, I just said you could ask, I didn’t say you had to believe me,” she said. 

“Well, if it’s nothing personal, what is it?”

Cora seemed to shrink in on herself a little as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. I had to strain to hear her over the rushing wind. 

“Look, Mycroft, you seem like a nice guy and all, but you’re not cut out for this,” she said. 

“What, you’re worried you’ll get attached and I’ll get killed or something?” I asked. That, at least I could understand.

“Oh, fuck no,” Cora said with a laugh. “I’m not even all that attached to Edgar. I work with him because he gets it.”

I let out a noise that was half grunt, half sigh, all frustration. 

“Gets what, exactly?” I asked. 

“He gets that this job isn’t just a job for me, and it isn’t just a job for him, either. I don’t know how he ended up as a Hunter. He won’t tell me, and I don’t need to know. If he wants either of us to know, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. What I can tell you is that when I became a Hunter, I made a promise, and I’d sooner let all three of us die before I broke it. Can you say the same?”

I sat and thought for a long while. I’d been faced with this sort of problem before. Whenever a buddy got hurt, a lot of choices had to be made in quick succession. I didn’t know much about Hunting, but I knew plenty about war. There were some missions that were more important than any one member of the team, and if someone got hurt, you still had to push on. But you didn’t just abandon them to their fate. I will never leave a fallen comrade, it’s right there in the Soldier’s Creed. Sure it’s a bunch of moto bullshit, but the idea rings true. 

“Maybe,” I said after a long moment, “maybe not. Depends on the situation, what’s at stake. I’m not going to leave you to die just to catch some small-time crooks, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s exactly what I’m asking, and that’s why you’re not cut out for this,” Cora said. “You’ve never met the Eldest, so you don’t know what he’s like. That’s not your fault. But believe me when I say, there’s no cutting corners in his world. You don’t just let someone go because your buddy is worth more than the mission. To him, every mission is the most important mission. And if he thinks so, I think so. Plain and simple.”

“Ah,” I said. “You’re a fanatic.”

Cora laughed, an ugly, barking sound that was more animal than human.

“You’re welcome to think that, if it helps. Let’s just say I learned the hard way why he’s right. In the meantime, I’m going to keep busting your balls, because the instant you start thinking of me as some precious snowflake who needs protecting, I’ll kill you myself. I won’t feel bad about it, but that’s a lot of paperwork, and it’s easier to just make you hate me.”