"Where is she?"

Issana stormed across the cistern, so furious that she thought the canal water might begin to steam off her instead of dripping. Rune met her halfway, hands raised placatingly. "Calm down, Issana. What happened?"

Issana shouldered past him and headed straight for the Ragged Flagon. The door was slightly ajar and she booted it open. "VEX!"

Brynjolf, Delvin, Tonilia, and Vex were seated around one of the tables, with Delvin dealing out cards. All four of them looked up. Brynjolf jumped upright. "Whoa there, lass. It's all-"

Issana cleared the room before he could react. Vex spluttered something as Issana gripped her by the shoulder and heaved her over backwards out of her chair. "You set me up!" Issana spat. "Tried to grab the loot yourself and get me arrested. Well, it didn't-" She punched Vex in the face. "-bloody-" She struck again but Vex blocked it. "-work!" Vex caught the last punch and flipped Issana over with a twist of her legs.

"That's enough!" roared Brynjolf. Someone seized Issana in a headlock and dragged her backwards while Dirge put a heavy knee onto Vex's chest.

"Both of you, enough!" Brynjolf bellowed again. "What in all the planes of Oblivion is going on?"

Issana struggled against the headlock Delvin had put her in. "She-ragh!-told me to go around a corner, then grabbed the sacks, alerted everyone and locked me inside! I barely got out before the guards showed up!"

Brynjolf whirled on Vex. "Is that true?"

Vex mumbled something under her breath and Dirge wrenched her onto her feet. Brynjolf stepped up into her face. "I said, is that true?"

Vex rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right. It's true. So? She got out all right, didn't she?"

Delvin loosened his grip on Issana and gave her a push out of the way. "What's wrong with you, Vex? You've been nothing but a barrel of rotten fish since you botched that Whiterun job. You'll be lucky if Mercer doesn't kick you out!"

"Hah. Kick the best infiltrator out? Sure, that'll happen."

Issana moved to step forwards but Delvin blocked her and pushed her backwards again. "Vex," Delvin said, "you-oh, you've gotta be kidding me. You're worried she's here to replace you? Vex, one bad job doesn't get you kicked out. Don't be an idiot."

"Don't be stupid, Delvin. That's not it at all." But by the way Vex was looking down at the ground, that was exactly it.

Delvin stepped towards her. "Look, I know it's been tough since Hjarald got himself kicked out. But he was stealing out of our coffers! You're not gonna get kicked out and replaced for a botched heist."

Vex wiped blood from her lip. Brynjolf looked over at Issana. "It's up to you, lass. This isn't something we take lightly here. If you want to bring it up with Mercer, it's your call."

"I don't think I'll need to," Issana said. "Now little princess here knows I can look out for myself, she won't try to pull something like that again. Right?" She gave Vex a venomous look.

Vex glared back. "Right."

Delvin stepped out from between them. "Now, do you two need to hug it out, or are we done here?"

Vex shook Dirge's hand off of her shoulder. "We're done." She turned her back and stalked away to the farthest table.

Delvin gave the scattered cards a glance. "Damn, and I'm sure I had a good hand, too."