Misato tagging along as bodyguard wasn't in the plan.
"I appreciate the concern," I said, picking words with bomb defusal delicacy. "But I think having my squad captain follow me to my girlfriend's apartment sends a weird message."
"Weird how?"
"Weird like I need a babysitter."
"You do need a babysitter. You tried to commit federal theft forty-eight hours ago."
"That was a team decision."
"A team decision I had to clean up at one in the morning while you carried a fake crystal through restricted territory."
"We returned it."
"You returned it because Vale was standing in the vault waiting for you like a disappointed parent at a police station."
She had me there. No counter for that because the image of Vale holding a glowing crystal while wearing designer sunglasses at one AM was seared into my memory with brand permanence.
"Look," I said, trying a different approach. "Aurora specifically invited me. Showing up with an entourage is going to change the dynamic."
