Rael arrived before me.
The Crossing's settlement coordinator had briefed each of us separately. I had expected this and had planned for it — arriving at the agreed time rather than early, because I had been early at the freight station and had used the six minutes productively, and arriving at the agreed time here was its own kind of signal: I am not running a position game, I am here to hear what you're saying.
He had chosen a seat with his back to the wall and clear sightlines to all four entry points.
I registered this before I reached the table, because it was the same seat I would have chosen, and the recognition was not comfort. The recognition was information. We were the same category of person in the same register of care. That was not an endorsement of the offer or of him; it
