[So, dust. And, perhaps, a loose end or two that they didn't quite spell out. Yeah, he can see where that leads even clearer than he could before coming here. Decision time.

He lets his silence stretch out a little, like the ice the kid is making on the surface of the after.

(Decision by decision, minute by minute, day by day.)]

Here's my advice. You don't have to take it. If you want a happy ending, the one where you come out on top...

[He grins mirthlessly.]

Quit while you're ahead. That's what I do.