[ It may not end perfectly well. Especially since he plans to turn himself in to Anonymous. Hei's run for his job, then from it, enough times at home. He's tired. There's little point in running here. The City's a transparent cage; the Powers That Be can reach out and pluck you up, anytime they please. But he doesn't say that to Pai. ]

[ There's no affectionate clinch. No reaching out to ruffle her hair. But it has less to do with Pai than with Hei's own state-of-mind. He looks pretty terrible: hair messy, face still blotched from the cold mountains, the dirt tracks visible on his face. He carries with him into the room the stale grunginess of the outdoors. Heading to the utility sink, he does his best to rinse the grime off his face and hands. He drinks some of the cold water from his cupped palms, and remains leaning there, shivering against the heavy porcelain, letting it run over his hands. Even with the faucet on and the distance between them, he can hear Pai's breathing. From time to time, there's an occasional tremor, rattling the furniture and vibrating the walls. But they're aftershocks; nothing dire. ]

[ Eventually, in response to Pai's question, ]

The Barrier controls the City's atmosphere as much as the Clock. There's some truth to the theory that it's like a system of nerves. Hurt one point and everything goes haywire.