"Apparently Bethem killed some of theirs as well, exsanguinating them," Asa answered her. "As the Arabs, Chinese, and Christian Bible say -- 'The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend.'"

If Asa still breathed, he would exhale at the sight of the willworkers leaving. Watching Erika make her way over, he spoke to Twist again.

"You think about the Invictus, and I'll think about where you might be most effective," he said. "Let's also keep the fact that you know about these 'willworkers' between you, the Reeve Naetesh, and myself." With her considering the Invictus, Asa slowly began working their Titles into his speech, knowing what an absolute pain in the ass the mouthfuls were in the beginning.

As the booth became much more narrow when standing behind the chairs at the turntables, he motioned for her to let Erika in rather than try to reach around her.