"Go ahead," Neo said.
Vivienne lowered her gaze to the phone in her hand and moved her thumb across the screen with the ease of someone for whom money had never been something heavy. A second later, Neo's own phone vibrated against the table.
He picked it up.
The transfer had gone through.
For a brief instant, the number sat there on the screen with a weight more solid than the glass, the plates, or the city blazing behind her.
123,169 Creds.
Neo stared at it a heartbeat longer than he meant to.
That was real money. Enough to breathe for a while.
Vivienne watched him from across the table, one hand resting near her glass.
"So?" she asked, the corner of her mouth lifting. "Do I pass?"
Neo set the phone down. "You keep your word."
"I usually do."
The answer came light, though the mood between them had changed. The playful edge from earlier had thinned.
Vivienne turned the stem of the glass once between her fingers.
"About the relic," she said, "be careful."
