Then what are you out for? The truth? Justice? The latter was possible, if for Martin Landel was added to the end. They all wanted that. Ema's safety from Gant was part and parcel -- Landel was the one who could hurt her, not her old partner. She nodded, accepting his assent at face value. He couldn't hurt either of them with Darke any more, and he had nothing else.

Now, when everything seemed resolved, when there didn't appear to be traps lurking in any of his statements -- now she was nervous. What was he expecting her to say? Did he sincerely expect her to pull out her notes on Landel and start strategizing? He just might. That was one thing she had to give him credit for; an indefatigable, occasionally insufferable ability to take everything in stride. A smile, and a few laughing words couldn't make a murder accusation go away like some minor slip-up, but he was trying. Did having her tolerance, if no longer her trust, still mean something to him? Could she even allow herself to think that?

She'd faced him almost every day for the past few years. She could do so now.

"I'm afraid I can't share all of your optimism. Landel seems well aware that co-operation is one of our few assets. Last night saw the demise of a number of working relationships, if I don't miss my guess." Tacit in her statement was the trust they'd once had in each other's gut feelings; she had never lied to him. It also stood as one final warning -- she was guessing, not stating a fact drawn from experience, and she'd laid that neatly between the lines.