She crosses and uncrosses her legs. I can see the growing restlessness in her. Apparently, Demyan can, too. We exchange a glance before he reaches out and puts his hand on her arm.
“Hey,” he says. “We’ve got you, you know?”
She knocks his hand off and glares at him. “You think I’m worried about myself?”
“No,” he says. “But I do think, after this mission, you need to take a break.”
“A break? I don’t—You don’t—” She turns to me. “Aleks, do you feel that way, too?”
All I do is nod once.
Jennifer jerks up to her feet, incensed. “Shut up. You’re pulling me out after this? You’re actually gonna—”
“You’ve done your service and then some, Jennifer,” I say gently. “It’s time to retire.”
“Retire?” she exclaims, getting even more worked up. “Retiring isn’t a ‘break.’ You want me to hang up my
