"They scare me," he says quietly. Shady government types always did. They knew more than you wanted them to and they could make you disappear in a heartbeat. They were worse than the Mob. At least with the Mob, your nearest and dearest got a body to bury. Closed coffin, probably, but at least you got a rock with your name on it. With the government, they just put you down as missing.

The submissive wisecrack makes him snort, but he adopts a looser, grudging stance and falls back a half-step. "Your beaten down lab technician? I think I can pull that off."