Billy felt the strangest twinge. He actually wanted to tell Mike it would be okay. Console the criminal he was here to catch. Perhaps it was the oddity of being called an an eager-eyed kid by someone who was likely ten years his junior. In that, he realized he'd been wrong about Mike suspecting him, since the other now spoke of him as part of the team. It didn't exactly put him at ease, but it shifted his thinking.

"What's done is done," he said, half away between defeat and reassurance. It was another scar he couldn't erase. But if he could bring these guys down, it would be worth it in the end. Better he take the beating and get this done quick then have some one else end up like Whistler.

Carefully, he set the bottle down between them. "Isn't it better that way, not telling right from wrong? It means you can get the job done, doesn't it?"