Leo agreed to meet them, though "agreed" was a generous word for the reluctant, hollow-eyed way he showed up at Gavin's apartment that evening, sitting on the edge of a couch that clearly belonged to someone who spent more time debugging code than furnishing a living room.
"I already told you it's handled," Leo said, glancing between Elena, Alexander, and the stranger with three monitors and an energy drink collection that rivaled a vending machine. "Why do we need to relitigate this?"
"Because it might not be handled the way we thought," Alexander said, not unkindly. "The debt is gone. But we need to understand who you were actually working for, Leo. It matters more than you think."
Leo's jaw tightened, some of the old defensiveness Elena recognized from their teenage years flickering
