Refugees from other universes evidently had a tendency toward paranoia. Understandable, justifiable, and not minded by Raleigh…except for the fact that those refugees fled when they saw First and her coming.

She triple-checked her coat—again—but her upgrades weren’t showing. “Why are they running?”

First sighed and pulled something from his pocket. Unfolded it, smoothened it out, and handed it to her.

Paper? Raleigh accepted it, startled before she even saw what was on it: a mug shot of First, with a brief description and a panorama of snapshots featuring him in various gruesome situations.

A sectioned-off part of her mind nonchalantly analyzed the blood spatter and the corpses and informed her that he was quite efficient and preferred methods of maximum effectiveness and minimum duration.

So… A killer, but not a sadistic one. She could relate.

Raleigh spared a brief thought for how the child of two such killers might turn out—it was something she’d considered before, in regards to herself—and handed back the paper, unsure if she was annoyed or disturbed that Janni had never bothered to to introduce her to the underworld of temporal refugees. “I feel like a fish out of water.”

“Depends on the fish,” First answered absentmindedly. “Some don’t mind being out of water awhile.”

Raleigh blinked at him.

He sighed. “I’m an upper grade science teacher.”

“Ah.” She eyed him askance. “How does that work, with the Nameless thing?”

First’s eyes jumped around as he studied their surroundings. “Doesn’t.” He snorted. “Third always was the smartest of us.”

“Oh?” Raleigh kept her tone light, so he’d be less likely to notice that she was fishing for details. “What do you mean?”

He answered matter-of-factly, “Most people assumed she was dumb, because she earned herself so many beatings. But she never crossed the line into becoming a Breach, which would get her executed. Not even here.” He grimaced. “Not even after…”

He shook his head. “Beatings had to be administered by our clutch’s keeper, and…it was one of the only times he was allowed to touch her. Maybe he could’ve gotten past the guilt if we got out sooner, but as it was, he stayed here long enough to confirm this universe didn’t have Infested, then killed himself so he couldn’t hurt her anymore.”

His blasé attitude chilled her. “Kitten—Third—is a masochist.”

“No.” First glanced over at something above and behind Raleigh. “If anything, she’s too smart for her own good. She knows the laws, her limitations, and just how far she can push them both without causing any lasting damage.”

Raleigh wasn’t sure she wanted to understand everything he was talking about. His native universe was sounding worse than hers. “Isn’t intelligence a good thing?”

“When you’re rigorously controlled, starved of emotional and physical needs, severely punished for any infraction, and required to risk yourself to save everyone else?” He shrugged. “Maybe not. Usually we’re sent in pairs, for guard duty or killing, but that requires a clutch to have an even number. Ours doesn’t. Third’s been even lonelier than…”

First looked away.

Raleigh realized that he’d stopped because he’d remembered he was wrong. His clutch was down to an even number, two, because his wife was dead. Or at least his wife was about to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

She impulsively caught his arm and gave it a slight squeeze. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

He froze in the middle of studying her from the corner of his eye.

His expression stayed on the wary side of ‘impassive’, but a yellow glow rippled from beneath his skin before it submerged once more.

Raleigh stared at his face, wondering where it had gone. Moreover, what had it been?

First tugged his arm from her grip and continued on his way. “We’ve a few more places we can try, at least.”

His tone was unruffled, as if his wife wasn’t dying, and it rang as false as his blasé attitude about his namelessness.

For the first time, Raleigh felt fortunate for her own native universe, and the circumstances that led to her receiving her own mods. At least she had been allowed to be a person when she was off-duty.

“How are you so normal?” she asked before she thought better of it.

He glanced back at her, eyebrows raised, his expression otherwise indicating a calm readiness that called him anything but a civvie.

She got the impression it had been there all along, but he, despite his belittling of his own intelligence, was adept at hiding it. “Oh.”