Cole was in the cleared apartment two doors down from Michael's that had become the de facto space for conversations that needed more room than the hallway and less audience than the main apartment.
He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his weapon across his knees and his eyes on the middle distance in the way of someone who had stopped doing one thing and hadn't started another yet.
He looked up when Michael came in and waited.
Michael sat across from him and told him about the three variant Stalkers. Cole listened without interrupting and when Michael finished he was quiet for a moment.
"Gareth found them," he said.
"This afternoon," Michael said. "Watching the watchtower pulse relay while he worked on the external operation map."
