First didn’t so much as pause before entering the StretSec office. Raleigh hesitated before following. In her experience, public security didn’t care for people who didn’t have proper documentation.

The receptionist at the front desk was male, with ill-fitting clothes that seemed designed to hide that he was an experienced fighter. The beard kept him from seeming too unassuming, though.

First walked right up to his desk. “Is TamLin in?”

Why was he looking for TamLin at StretSec?

“You know TamLin?” the receptionist asked.

“He’s helping me look for my sister and my wife.”

The receptionist nodded. “And do you have a name?”

First just quietly met his gaze.

Raleigh understood why—answering either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ could cause more problems than they had time to deal with—but that was still antagonizing the man. She sighed. “We’re just trying to get in touch with him. Is he in? If not, we’ll just call and leave a message.”

She wasn’t quite sure why First had decided to come by rather than do that to begin with. Maybe he didn’t have TamLin’s number?

The receptionist glanced her over, then did it again—more slowly and appreciatively. “You have a name?”

“Raleigh.” She smiled politely. “Can you let him know we’re here, please?”

He beamed back at her, probably having read far too much into her courtesy. “Sure thing. Just a—”

An alarm shrieked.

Hubbub erupted. Raleigh’s chipset automatically adjusted to suit the situation—reducing the sensitivity of her hearing, improving her strength and balance, and to—

She hastily overrode that one and shut it off before she went into ‘kill’ mode.

First stepped aside—back to the wall, beside to the desk—and Raleigh stood near, watching the other side of the room. Near them, the receptionist was scrambling on his console and demanding someone tell him what the hell was going on.

TamLin, Third, and a woman (who had the sharp look of someone who’d been put through the breeder drugs that Raleigh thankfully had been spared experiencing back home) stumbled out from a hallway and beelined for the exit. First and Raleigh leaped after them—

And caught up in a nearby alley as TamLin shoved Third into a wall that had peeling paint and nails sticking out from the fabricated brick. “What were you thinking?”

The woman Raleigh didn’t know had her arms wrapped around herself. She was rocking and giggling softly. Déjà vu hit Raleigh, but she didn’t let her chipset bring the memory to fore, to recognize the woman’s reaction.

Third didn’t respond, even as TamLin knocked her to the ground and brought his foot back to kick her.

First intervened, catching TamLin’s foot with his own and nearly getting his own face slugged for his trouble.

“What did she do?” First asked calmly, as if watching his little sister get beaten on was normal for him.

TamLin’s chest heaved. “She fucking killed my boss!”

“Now, we don’t know that,” the woman said, so calm that Raleigh’s stomach lurched. It took going through the drugs at least three times before somebody could manage that despite them. “We were walking away, and the office happened to catch fire. First off, who’s to say she did anything? And second off, he might not be dead.”

The woman tightened her arms around herself and started shivering. “I hope he is, though.”

“She grabbed napalm right before we stepped out of the armory!” TamLin snapped.

“She has napalm under her sweater,” Raleigh pointed out, glad for her built-in scanners.

First flinched, and TamLin gave her a hard stare, his respiration and pupils telling her where at least some of the aggression and fear were coming from.

Just as swiftly, TamLin grabbed Third and ripped off her sweater, leaving her in the sleeveless summer shirt that Raleigh had seen on the future version of Third that had paid a visit.

He stared at the bottle on her belt, yanked her up and against the wall, glared for another long moment, then dropped her and stalked off.

“What…?” First murmured.

He sounded genuinely confused, so Raleigh glanced at the still-shaky woman still near them and said, “Your TamLin wasn’t an addict, I take it.”

First stared at her.

Raleigh jerked her head back towards the direction he’d stalked off in. “He’s wanting a fix.”

The woman said, “Puce set things up to harm others, if he died suddenly. I’m Kasy. I work with…” Kasy mirrored Raleigh’s motion to indicate TamLin. “I don’t think the drugs are what are making him antsy.”

“They might not be the only factor, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t part of it or don’t exacerbate the problem.” Raleigh glanced at First, who still seemed dumbstruck that TamLin was an addict, to Third, who seemed unsurprised.

So perhaps their universe’s version of the man had just hidden his drug habit from First…or maybe Third was just better at hiding her reaction to things.

Raleigh helped Third to her feet and watched the girl brush herself off. “You know that was abusive, right?” she asked softly. “He had no right to do that.”

“Yes, he did,” said First, startling her. He sounded exhausted. “If he hadn’t done it, I would’ve had to.”

“It was a misunderstanding—”

“Oh,” Third said matter-of-factly. Her cheek was already starting to bruise. “I napalmed Puce.”

Raleigh stared at her.

“And I am much grateful to you for that,” Kasy said, “but in his office? Really?”

“Where else would he keep his documentation?” Third gave a slight smile. “The scanners were glitching, off and on, the whole time I was near that building—which has been most of the afternoon. Started hours before I came in, ended minutes after I left. Not enough of a connection for them to see it’s me.”

“I don’t hear the crime you’re admitting to committing,” Kasy said. “La la la. Fingers in my ears.” The woman frowned at Third. “Aren’t you talking too much? I thought Nameless weren’t supposed to be chatty.”

Third shrugged. “I’m a very bad Nameless.”

“No, you’re not,” TamLin said from the end of the alley.

Third actually perked up to see him, which made Raleigh feel a little sick.

“You’re just very bad at heeding rules that are tradition rather than outright law.” He stepped forward.

Raleigh didn’t see any more withdrawal symptoms. She also didn’t detect any drugs in him. Puzzling. And it made her even more uncomfortable about Third’s obvious infatuation with him. At least Janni had the sense not to complete their marriage.

“We found where Nev is holding Janni, at least, and it’s likely that Second will be there, too.” He started off, apparently no longer caring even about his possibly dead boss.

Third followed him readily.

Raleigh glanced at First. The two of them shook their heads, then looked to Kasy.

Kasy gave a little wave. “I’ll just be going back in the office and start the paperwork for all of you.”

And, as she headed back toward the building, Raleigh overheard her mutter, “I hope he’s dead.”