Chapter 330
"No." I said, glaring downward, now under direct assault of the broiling sun, my back to the glass.
"But Matt—" Kinsley whined.
"Hell no."
It was clear as day what her intentions were. She was clad in miniaturized armor, the sort of advanced poly weave adventurer's gear that cost an outright fortune. Her helmet had a blue-glass eyepiece, and the giant hiking-style backpack pulling down on her shoulders dwarfed her in size.
"Maybe I wasn't clear. Maybe somewhere between my mouth and your ears, the words lost meaning. You need to be here." I stabbed my finger at the ground. "Protecting what's yours, taking care of everything on this side of reality. If you're in the tower with us, you can't do that."
"Broke assholes say what?"
"Fucking what?" I leaned over her, exuding menace.
Despite clear intimidation, Kinsley didn't back down. "I did exactly what you taught me. Accounted for everything. Hired people. Compartmentalized. Put contingencies into play. Not just from people I pay, but people I trust."
"Do you even understand what you're proposing? How much is at risk?" I seethed. "Without the selve your market generates, everything goes to shit. We lose our greater influence, any potential we had to guide things to a less harmful outcome. And Miles—" Belatedly, I realized I was shouting, and lowered my voice to a whisper. "Miles was already looking at you sideways because of our association. If you came, it'd be child's play for him to kill two birds with one stone."