"So you didn't manage to bring Mei back?"
Martin asked it plainly, no judgment in his voice, just asking.
He stood with his arms loosely crossed, facing Cindy in the pale morning light.
Cindy shook her head.
Then she told them everything. The exchange, how it had gone, the tension that had stretched thin and then snapped, and Penny before that. She didn't leave out the part about Penny. It was the kind of thing you couldn't really soften no matter how you worded it, so she didn't try.
Martin listened without interrupting. When she finished, he let out a slow breath through his nose.
"She was being controlled," he said quietly. "Poor woman." He was still for a moment. "I do feel bad for her. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved there's one less threat hanging over everyone's heads."
