"It was." He rolls his empty glass to watch the melting ice clink around. "He'd clearly intended for the whole thing, in some capacity."

He still doesn't understand it. It eats at him, constantly. Difficult to say whether it's better or worse, now having Elias so close at hand and still not knowing.

"As for the others, Basira has been... pragmatic." There's a tight, bitter little smile with it. "And Melanie..."

He takes a careful breath, and looks up, looks at Tim.

"Melanie got out. I found a way to quit, and she took it."

It's clear enough from the soft tone that it's not a good way. But she's— she's free now. She's with Georgie. She and Georgie are safe.