Joan arrived at his room the next morning with the Verath debrief file in a manila folder tucked under her arm.
She knocked twice.
Waited one second.
Opened the door.
Yara was sitting on Soren's desk in humanoid form, legs crossed, reading his combat notes.
She was wearing a shirt that was too big for her, one of Soren's, the collar slipping off her left shoulder.
Her red eyes tracked the handwriting on the page without blinking.
Joan stopped in the doorframe.
Full Bureau posture.
Straight spine, feet shoulder-width, hands at her sides, weight balanced.
She looked at Yara the way she looked at a suspect, inventory first, threat assessment second, exit routes third.
"Kane." Her voice carried into the bathroom where Soren was brushing his teeth. "There's a Tier-6 entity reading your homework."
Soren spit into the sink. "She does that."
Yara didn't look up from the notes. "The Bureau agent is in the doorway."
"The Bureau agent has a name."
Yara looked up.
