Chapter 14: Reunions
Gale is so stunned he doesn't react at first when his mother and Posy hug him. But within seconds his eyes start watering and his throat hurts, and then he can't hug them back tightly enough. When he opens his eyes, he sees Vick and Rory shuffling behind his mother and pulls them into the hug, too. He doesn't want to let go of any of them. How could he possibly have gone this long without these four people?
"Surprise," his mother says, her eyes glistening. "We're a few days early, I hope that's all right." At his confused expression, she narrows her eyes. "You did get my messages before the machine filled up, didn't you?"
He doesn't know what she's talking about, which could be related to the fact that he can't remember the last time he listened to his messages. The committees have been meeting at off-site locations so he hasn't been near his office phone lately either, and then he took Friday off, which led to being stranded in the woods...
His mother shakes her head in disdain. "How do you function…" She trails off as she gazes behind him and he sees her eyes widening. Madge. He turns around and takes in Madge standing awkwardly next to the couch, her messy hair and bare feet matching his own.
"Is it really her?" his mother asks, turning back to Gale in disbelief.
"Yeah." He feels a smile creeping over his face, remembering how his mom had picked up on at least some of his feelings about Madge. He watches her approach Madge hesitantly, and then when Madge's face crumbles, sweep her into a hug.
"There, there, dear," she murmurs, patting Madge's head gently. He hears her inquire softly about Madge's parents, which causes Madge to start sobbing. Gale takes a step toward them but then feels Posy tugging on his leg.
"Gale? Is that the crying girl?"
He scoops up Posy into his arms. "Sure is." He'd forgotten Posy gave Madge that name because of her tendency to show up in tears at their house in District 12. Looking toward Madge again, he can see she's being thoroughly comforted by his mother so he leaves them to each other and focuses on Posy. He's pleased to find that she's heavier than he remembers, which confirms they've been eating well in 13. And she's clinging to him so tightly it's clear she won't let him set her down anytime soon, but what else has he been doing so much rock climbing for if not Posy-lifting?
"Come in," he gestures with his free arm to Rory and Vick, who seem to be on luggage duty. Gale grabs one of the suitcases and hefts it inside. "Umph. How much did you bring?"
Rory sullenly lifts the next two largest suitcases inside so Vick answers. "Everything."
Gale freezes. "What?"
His mother looks up from comforting Madge. "Train tickets are expensive. What if we like it here? We don't have much. It was easier to pack everything."
"What if we don't like it here?" Rory grumbles.
"We're special refugees, Gale," Vick explains seriously as he hauls a suitcase inside. "We get money to relocate in any district, although we also get a housing bonus if we go back to 12."
Gale knows how the program works, having sat through nauseatingly long meetings about its development. In the back of his mind, he assumed his family would eventually take advantage of the bonus and return to 12.
"Boys, you remember Madge Undersee, don't you?" his mother inserts, presenting a blotchy-faced Madge. Gale belatedly realizes he should have introduced Madge, but she was busy crying and he was distracted. He forgot how even the simplest things become chaotic when his whole family is together.
"Hi," Madge says stiffly. "Rory? And Vick?" She waves at Posy, still perched on Gale's hip. "Hi, Posy."
Posy hides her head in Gale's neck, mystifying him. So she's going through a shy phase right now? He feels guilty for not knowing.
Vick steps forward and politely shakes Madge's hand. "Hi, Madge. It's good to see that you survived the war."
"Thank you…" Madge glances at Gale and he has to look away quickly so he doesn't start laughing at Vick's formality. Madge is so fussy about manners, he'll have to remember to hassle her about whether Vick used the proper greeting for someone thought to be dead.
Rory moves forward to shake her hand as well, and takes manners in the opposite direction by turning immediately to Gale afterward. "Did you have a toasting and not even tell us?"
"No," Gale says automatically. He would never celebrate his toasting without them.
"Then why is she living here?" Rory asks, in a tone that suggests he knows very well why Madge might be here in the morning.
"Um, I live in the Capitol," Madge offers, but she's turning red and is scrunching her toes under her feet, as though to hide that she's barefoot.
"She's just visiting," Gale says casually, moving to stand by Madge. "Anyone thirsty? Hungry?" Hawthornes are easily distracted with food.
Rory and Vick make vaguely affirmative sounds before floating into the living room to examine his furniture and the contents of his shelves. His mother disappears down the hallway, no doubt to check out the rest of the apartment under the guise of freshening up. He doesn't stop them—they're here, they're family, and it feels normal for them to be in his business. It's not like he could hide anything from them in 12 or 13. Nothing physical, at least.
Still carrying Posy, he moves to the kitchen and adds water to the tea kettle so it will be ready when his mom finishes snooping. Madge is trying to clear up all the maps they left on the floor last night, blushing as though his family will know exactly how those maps fell off the wall. When she glances at him, he winks purely to see her turn a deeper shade of red.
"How was the train ride, Pose?" he asks as he opens the kitchen cupboards in search of something edible.
"We saw cows yesterday," she reports solemnly. "They were big."
She chatters about other things they saw from the train windows while Gale pulls eggs out of the refrigerator and pushes them into Madge's arms now that she's finished with the maps. "Here, get started on scrambling these, I probably have some grain somewhere, too…"
Madge looks like the egg carton is a bomb and he just suggested she throw herself on it. "I don't know how—"
He stares at her in disbelief. Even if Madge the mayor's daughter didn't cook, surely Madge the war survivor has learned to feed herself. She shakes her head apologetically, blushing again.
"Posy," he says, setting his sister on the counter, "Madge is going to teach you how to scramble eggs."
Posy's eyes light up as she listens to him explain that Madge is first going to crack the eggs into a bowl and heat the pan. While Madge tentatively opens the egg carton, Posy continues her report on their journey.
"Rory didn't talk to Mom the whole trip. He didn't want to come here."
"I still don't," Rory calls from the living room, where he's flopped onto the couch and has his eyes closed, feet on the coffee table.
"Gale, can I look at this book?" Vick holds up one of the dust-covered military strategy books from the shelf in the living room.
"Yeah, sure," Gale says absently. Then it occurs to him that he doesn't want Vick turning into a soldier, so he darts into the living room and replaces the military book with one about the local geology. "This is more interesting, though," he says, putting the military book out of reach. "You wouldn't believe the colors of the rocks here."
While Vick skeptically examines the replacement book, Rory stands and plucks the military book from the top shelf, gazing challengingly at Gale before flopping back onto the couch and pretending to be engrossed with reading. When did Rory grow so tall? More importantly, when did Rory turn into such a punk? With a chill, he wonders if Rory already knows about the bomb…
He's distracted from his thoughts by his mother's reappearance. "This is a lot of space for one person, Gale," she observes. "What does it cost?"
"Three hundred a month." An unheard of sum in District 12, but he doesn't think much about it here because the army covers his housing. He returns to the kitchen and tries to subtly remove shell fragments from the bowl where Madge cracked the eggs.
"Places are cheaper in the outlying villages," Madge adds, looking up from the pan where she'd been fretfully watching butter melt. "My aunt and uncle live in a village about 45 minutes away."
"How much are houses in that area?" his mom asks.
Gale starts choking on his tea, suddenly realizing his mother is inquiring because she's thinking about doing some renting of her own.
Madge pats his back. "OK?"
He nods. He's fine except for having a mother who apparently never listens to him! How many times has he told her that the army could send him somewhere else without warning?
His mother gives him a tight smile and turns her attention back to Madge. "What were you saying about that village, dear?"
Madge launches into a detailed account of the village and her family's history running the quarry, clearly more at ease with this topic than toastings or making sure the butter isn't burning. Which it is. Looks like the cooking lesson is over; she needs remedial tutoring anyway. He takes over while Madge talks, and when the pan is the right temperature, lifts Posy up so she can pour the eggs in. She squeals joyfully at the sizzling, which reminds him that she probably doesn't even remember what it was like to live in a house with a kitchen.
His mom joins them at the stove, looking nostalgically at the pan.
He hands her the spatula. "Have at it." He knows his mom remembers, and misses, having a kitchen.
She accepts the spatula with a grateful smile, and Gale recognizes his opportunity to talk to Madge alone. "Back in a second," he calls over his shoulder as he pulls Madge down the hallway back into his bedroom.
They stare at one another for a few moments just inside the doorway and he thinks Madge seems just as thrown as he is, letting her guard down slightly now that they're alone again. Was it really only half an hour ago that they were lying on his bed together? Everything feels upside down.
"My hair probably looks terrible," she says in a dazed voice.
That's what she's concerned about? "You look fine," he says dismissively.
"Gale," she says more urgently, "your family thinks I'm a… harlot!"
"No they don't. And it takes two to… harlot." He isn't exactly sure what that word means, but it sounds insulting and nobody's thinking anything bad about Madge. His mom was ready to move in next door to the Whistlers, Vick and Posy are too young to know what Madge's morning presence suggested, and Rory was only being a pain to bother Gale. None of it is worth worrying about; the more important issue is the disruption in their plans.
"Madge, I can't go with you to the Capitol to meet with Simon today. I need to stay here with them." He's going to have to buy bedding, and more food…
Madge snaps out of her hair and harlot woes. "Of course. I can fill you in later."
"I'll get a soldier to go with you on the train."
"That's not necessary—"
"Madge," he warns, cutting off her impending huffiness. The thought of letting her out of his sight after what they've been through lately leaves him ill, and until they have better information about what happened he's not sending her off unguarded.
She nods hesitantly. "Fine. Can't hurt."
He rubs his face with his hands, already thinking of his next challenge. "I have to talk to Rory," he mumbles, overwhelmed with actually having to do this and not feeling ready. "He and Prim were friends."
Madge pulls his hands down so he can't hide and clasps them tightly, watching him with her earnest blue eyes for a few seconds before hugging him. It's like she's trying to transfer extra reserves of strength to him, and it does help as a reminder that she already knows how terrible he is and still wants to hug him. Maybe there's at least a chance Rory will eventually see him as something other than a ruthless killing machine, too. He hangs onto her until Vick yells that breakfast is ready, needing this quiet moment.
#
Gale fights the simmering anxiety in his gut as Madge's train slides out of view into the first of the tunnels that will take her to the Capitol. The soldier escorting her is armed, it's a full train, she should be fine. Repeating this mantra to himself, he tries to shift his attention back to his family and their shopping trip.
He hangs back with his mom while Vick and Posy race each other down the block, weaving through the other shoppers. Rory walks by himself, a dormant volcano of resentment. Most of his hostility has been directed at Gale, but it extended to Madge by association, though he never said or did anything rude enough that their mother could scold him for.
His mother follows Gale's gaze to Rory. "The last few months have been hard on him. He and Prim were inseparable when you and Katniss were on that final mission. We all had a tough time, and when the reports came out that your team hadn't survived… Well." She's quiet for a moment, and Gale doesn't need to imagine how awful it was; watching Katniss in the Hunger Games taught him everything he didn't want to know about what it feels like to learn from a TV screen that a loved one had been killed.
His mother takes a moment to collect herself and then continues. "Then while we were still in shock, Prim was picked for a medical team. She was gone before we understood what was happening."
Gale watches Rory scowl at a pair of kids his age who'd obviously been training to be Career tributes before the war, and remembers how intensely he hated being left behind when Katniss was in the Hunger Games. Both times. Rory being stuck in District 13 at the end of the war must have been even more terrible: worried about Gale as family, worried about Katniss as almost-family and as Prim's sister and as the symbol of the rebellion… But at least initially Rory had Prim, for whom the same stakes were just as high. With a sickening realization, the scenario reminds Gale of how he came to be friends with Madge—they were both stuck watching, unable to do anything significant to stop the terrors. And then Rory lost the most important person helping him cope, like how Gale lost Madge during the bombing of District 12. Only Gale—amazingly, miraculously, incomprehensibly—got Madge back, and Prim isn't coming back. And it's Gale's fault.
He doesn't even want Rory to forgive him; he deserves Rory's loathing. He feels a flash of anger at his mom for ambushing him, for exposing the kids to him when he's been trying to keep them away from his deadly influence. But he fights to push the anger down because she doesn't know the whole story and understandably wanted a family reunion. Getting mad at her won't help anything. The harder thing to do is to tell her…
He stops walking, and glances up the street where Posy and Vick have transitioned from racing to climbing on a statue of a past president that nobody has taken down yet. He can see that Rory, though frowning in annoyance, is keeping an eye on them.
Taking a slow, deep breath, he starts talking. "Mom, remember that work I did in Special Weapons?"
Staring at the sidewalk, he quietly describes designing the bomb, discovering it had been used to end the war, and learning that hundreds of children and families had been damaged by it, including Prim and Katniss and Peeta. Talking to the ground instead of to his mother makes it almost like he's recounting someone else's deadly decisions, even though he feels the weight of the truth every day.
She hugs him, and he doesn't pull away the way he usually does when she pats his back the way she did when he was little. She doesn't say anything, either, which is one of the best things about her—that she always knows what to say and what not to say.
"I have to talk to Rory," Gale finally says. "He's going to hate me. I'd hate me." And Rory is more like him than he cares to acknowledge.
"Gale," his mom says wearily, "take it easy on all the hating. He's your brother; he loves you. Just talk to him. Not talking makes things worse."
He exhales in agreement, aware of having learned that lesson the hard way. "That's what Madge said," he admits.
"Smart girl," his mom murmurs as she takes his arm and they start walking again. "Now. How soon can you arrange for the toasting? You'll want to do a traditional District 12 toasting, won't you? Do you think her relations in this district will mind?"
"I didn't say anything about a toasting," Gale says stiffly. He knew she'd start harping on this. "What you saw this morning wasn't what it looked like." Regretfully, and only because he hadn't had time to convince Madge otherwise before his family turned up… He gives his mom the abbreviated, no danger version of their hike gone awry. "We hadn't slept since Thursday. That's also why I hadn't listened to the messages—we were exhausted."
"You couldn't be exhausted in separate houses?" she asks sweetly.
"No." And he's officially sick of talking about this.
"Maybe you could have a toasting while we're visiting," she continues. "Although I didn't see a fireplace in that apartment. Do her relatives have one?"
"Mom. Stop. She wasn't even speaking to me until Friday. We have stuff to sort out."
His mom doesn't say anything, but he can tell she's satisfied she made her point and is only putting a bookmark in the conversation. Which guarantees she'll bring this up again when he least wants to talk about it.
As they approach the statue-turned-jungle-gym, his mom offers to take Vick and Posy to the food market while Gale and Rory do the other shopping. Rory acts like he could care less about which group he's helping, and walks with Gale to the outdoor gear store. Gale wants to get his family thermal sleeping bags, which would be useful in power outages, on camping trips, if another war breaks out…
It's a relief to retreat into the gear and to communicate with Rory only about what sizes of sleeping bags to buy and the best types of cots. On these neutral topics, the air between them feels almost the way it used to. But Rory's hostility returns as they leave the store for Gale's apartment with their purchases.
"How's 13?" Gale asks, still trying to thaw the frostiness. He hasn't spoken directly to Rory in months; usually their mom gives him updates.
"It still sucks."
"School going all right?"
Rory shrugs. Gale knows that shrug well, having employed it many times himself, which in turns makes him annoyed with his past self. He thinks back to how he'd react if someone kept asking stupid questions—he'd want that person to shut up. So he keeps quiet, letting Rory decide when the silence becomes too awkward.
"This district sucks, too," Rory finally says.
"This part does," Gale agrees. The main town in District 2 is drab, and not even the spectacular mountain views can counteract the ugly, block architecture or the attitude problem among the many residents who still consider it a favored district. "But the areas outside the old borders are worthwhile. I can take you out there."
"It's not home," Rory says as though that settles the issue.
"Home isn't home anymore, either."
"More home than this place."
This isn't going anywhere. Gale strains to think of a way he can bring up the bomb… Just come out and say, I'm the reason you'll never see your best friend again?
"I can see why you like it here, though," Rory says. "You can afford whatever you want, have a cushy job, and shacked up with the mayor's daughter. Abandoning Katniss really paid off for you. Nice."
"I didn't abandon Katniss," Gale corrects. "And Madge doesn't live with me."
"Just sleeps with you. Like you're making some weird statement about having been more than a guy from the Seam even before the war. Or maybe she's just another one of the girls like the TV shows say—"
"You know that's all crap," Gale cuts in, angry now. "And watch what you say about Madge." He's all for Rory abusing him, but Madge is off limits. Rory must sense he was out of line because he closes his mouth with a scowl and doesn't say anything else.
Gale tries to steer the conversation back to what he really needs to talk about. "Rory, Katniss doesn't want to see me, and she's right."
"You said that at her trial but that doesn't make sense," Rory argues. "We're like family to her—she needs us."
"Listen. She blames me for Prim and she's not off-base." He gets the story of the bomb out as quickly as he can. "I know I crossed a line designing that thing… The leaders shouldn't have made it, shouldn't have used it, were sick bastards for setting it off against children. And those shits in 13 shouldn't have sent someone as young as Prim into battle… But none of that changes that I played a part in what happened. Losing Prim nearly destroyed Katniss, and she'll always associate me with it. She needs to heal, which she can't do if I'm around."
Rory stares at him in mute silence.
"So… you're saying that since you can't go back to 12, we can't either?" Rory sounds like he's revving up into being angry.
"I'm giving you the full story so you can make your own decision."
"We have to do whatever Mom says," Rory snaps. "And Posy and Vick will want to go wherever you are, and you want to keep screwing the mayor's daughter so I guess we're moving to this shithole."
He throws the sleeping bags on the ground and storms back toward the shopping district. Gale picks up the sleeping bags and debates whether it's a good sign or not that Rory didn't try to punch him.
#
Madge is grateful her soldier escort isn't attempting to converse with her, instead keeping his eyes constantly scanning the aisles, doorways, and rocky scenery out the windows. His vigilance has left her free to indulge in daydreams about Gale and to remember how natural it had felt to sleep tangled up with him all night and to wake up next to him. Are they actually a couple now? It seems like they are—he kissed her good-bye in front of his family at the train station. That's a very couple-y thing to do.
It's mid-afternoon by the time the train pulls into the depot in the Capitol. Madge immediately spots Simon waiting for her on the crowded platform, and lets the soldier deal with her luggage while she throws herself at him, hugging him tightly, not having realized how much she missed him until seeing him again. How could she have been mad at him for helping her?
A throat clears behind her so she releases Simon and turns around.
"Identification, please," the soldier tells Simon, who looks at him as though he's slow.
"She just jumped on me," Simon says testily.
"Lieutenant Hawthorne instructed me not to leave the subject without confirming the identity of her handler."
Simon hands the soldier his identity card. "How is Lieutenant Hawthorne so good at being a pain in my ass from a district away?"
Madge notices the soldier hide a smile as he reviews Simon's card and wonders if Gale was just being overprotective or purposefully trying to annoy Simon. The soldier is satisfied and leaves with a salute, after which Simon grabs her suitcase and they start walking to their apartment building, only a few brightly colored blocks away.
Madge realizes that with all the chaos of the last few days, she never actually apologized to Simon for behaving so badly when he sent her away. "Simon, I'm sorry I was so difficult before. I was having more trouble with those pills than I realized, and maybe it was affecting my work."
He pauses and raises his eyebrows. "So I'm not a 'Capitol slimebag letting other slimebags get away with everything'?"
"Did I say that?" Most of her memories of those weeks are foggy… "I didn't mean it."
"Well, it got Fiona's attention. Someone told her—probably Amos, he's always sucking up. She took us both off the investigation of Edwin's business. Gave the file to Amos, and I think he closed it since nobody ever found anything."
Madge slows her pace. "What if I have new evidence?"
"Something you found on your little hiking trip with the war hero?"
She nods.
Simon swallows and looks uneasy. "Then you should tell Amos." Madge keeps watching him, calculating how long it will take him to cave. He's worse than she is, and she knows he's curious about what she may have learned.
She gives him a hook. "I don't know that it's related to Edwin's quarry business… It could be related to my other cases. I should probably look into it on my own before I tell Amos. Can we stop by the office on our way home?"
"Good idea," he says quickly.
He chats with her about office gossip until they reach the familiar building and pass through the layers of security. As they walk into the workroom lined with screens, monitors, and other electronics, Madge realizes how much she missed this place. Even on a Sunday the office is filled with energy and people preparing for the Monday morning briefings.
She and Simon find seats at one of the terminals while Madge explains that she and Gale came across an excavator near land Simon's brother's quarry might have been trying to claim, but that several other groups use that area as well, and Gale hadn't even been positive they were on the parcel the quarry wanted.
"So," she justifies, "I don't actually know if this serial number relates to the quarry business." She connects the camera's drive into the machine, waits for the photos of the serial number to appear, and then runs a search.
Simon leans back in his chair, acting like he doesn't care about the results even though he keeps glancing at the monitor. When a name flashes on, he bolts upright.
"Rare Earth Metals, Inc.," Madge reads. "Never heard of it."
Simon shakes his head to indicate that he's not familiar with the name either, and tabs through the next few screens. "They mine and process elements used in electronics manufacturing. Components in microprocessors and monitors, fiber optics… Looks like they're a new operation—first opened a bank account after the war." He leans back in his chair again. "Huh. Well, guess this does relate to your own work. Good job, Madgelet."
Madge smiles, relieved for his sake there was no link to the quarry and entertaining the idea that she was being unfair to his brother. Maybe these Rare Earth people were the ones who sabotaged Gale's car; they're clearly prospecting near that construction zone. And that area's proximity to both districts 2 and 3 makes it an obvious choice for this type of mining operation. Worth further investigation.
#
Madge wakes up to the sound of a shower running and sunlight streaming in through the window in Simon's living room. She slides off the couch happily, much more alert than the last time she stayed here. Wandering into the kitchen, she briefly considers making coffee, but since she can never remember the right proportions and Simon's coffee maker is so complicated, she convinces herself that she's in the mood for tea.
As she sips her Earl Grey, she flips through the past few weeks of Simon's calendar and is surprised to learn that he actually had plans, unlike before she left. They used to either work late or pass the evenings in his apartment cooking new recipes (Simon) and sampling (Madge). The initial "M" appears frequently on the calendar, which is strange because Madge was in District 2. Are those the nights he called when she refused to speak to him? Why would he be marking those?
Standing, she starts to paw through the neat stack of folders on the counter—maybe there's something that explains how he spent his time while she was away. But most of the papers appear to be profiles of companies located in districts, which is probably work-related.
She hears the bathroom door click open but doesn't bother hiding her snooping and doesn't notice Simon enter the kitchen until she feels a piece of cloth snap her behind. Yelping in surprise, she twists out of range.
"Pest," he grins, shrugging his arms into the white dress shirt he just snapped her with. "You could at least pretend you care if I catch you digging through my stuff."
Waste of energy. "What is all this?" she asks, pointing to the folders.
Simon is frowning at the tea she left steeping for him. "You were gone for how long and still didn't learn how to make coffee? Guess the war hero isn't interested in your domestic prowess."
"Don't be crude," Madge scolds. "What is this stuff, Simon?"
He takes a sip of his tea and glances at the folders. "Edwin is trying to get me to invest in one of those district companies—introducing me to people, promising it would be more lucrative than my 'tedious' economic analysis job."
"But… those companies might be part of a scam!"
"I'm aware, Madge," he says calmly.
"What if…" She hesitates, aware that this is a touchy subject, and tries to voice her concern based on Simon's own admissions. "You said your brother was suspicious about what you do. If he figured out you work in intelligence, could he be trying to lure you away so you don't have access to sensitive information anymore? So you don't look into his business ventures?"
Simon rolls his eyes. "He's always pushed me into whatever he's interested in—it's his way of looking out for me. It's usually to his advantage, with the side benefit of helping me. If he can find more investors, people will think of him as a well-connected resource. And to his set—former mid-level Capitol workers—I'm 'well-placed' in the new, rebel government. More credibility with the districts." He glances at the clock and then eyes Madge's snarled hair and rumpled nightclothes. "You going in like that? We have a meeting with Fiona today."
She makes a face at him and picks up her tea cup and a muffin for her commute across the hallway to her own apartment so she can shower.
"Just give me 20 minutes," she calls as she struggles briefly with the door handle, tea, and muffin. The muffin is lemon flavored—that's new. He must be experimenting with recipes again. Or maybe he's been cooking for someone other than her… Standing in the doorway, she smiles back toward the kitchen where Simon is grinding coffee beans and is about to tease him when she senses movement in the hallway.
Several people she doesn't recognize are lounging on the floor next to her door, rifling through notebooks and large black bags. A man her age with orange spiraling tattoos on his forearms looks back and forth between Madge's apartment door and Madge herself, standing in Simon's doorway.
"Apartment 214, not 215," he mutters as he and the others leap to their feet. Madge instinctively takes a step backward, convinced too late that Gale's worrying had been justified. She mistakenly thought she would be safer sleeping at Simon's apartment.
A flashing light blinds her momentarily. A bomb? No, a large camera. And from somewhere behind it she sees another hallway figure speak into a portable phone: "It's her. We found the spy."
Before the words sink in, she feels Simon yanking her back inside his apartment, sloshing her tea so it leaves a dark stain on the hallway carpet.
A/N: I'm aiming for updates approximately every two weeks at this point; I'm getting closer to the end of this story and writing is taking longer and longer. Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing! Hugs to MSx2 for all the help!