Brian noticed the sigh, which spoke of mental weariness. Anything the sigh didn't tell him, the broad answers did. He frowned, thinking it was a shitty reaction, considering the guy sat down beside him and struck up the conversation.

He tried to give Cian the benefit of the doubt. There was risk involved in sharing what you knew of an unknown world with a virtual stranger. He could handle himself. He wasn't into being anybody's burden.

He put up his hands in a loose backing-off motion. "Hey, man. Don't worry about it," he said. "She's a professional. Anything I can't figure out on my own, she can tell me."

His urge was to get out of there, but he needed the bus. There was always the next station.

"Later."