The east stairwell smelled like old paint, same as always.
Leo got there first and sat on the third step from the bottom and waited. He had the pen device in his hand, turning it over slowly, not doing anything with it, just the weight of it in his palm. It was lighter than it should be for something carrying this much of his situation inside it.
Rosa arrived four minutes later. She sat one step above him, which meant she was looking down at the top of his head, which was probably intentional knowing Rosa.
She did not start with the obvious thing. That was one quality Leo had come to recognise in her, that she rarely opened with the obvious thing even when the obvious thing was sitting in the room demanding to be acknowledged first.
"How long have you been using it," she said.
"Since before I got here. Loca gave it to me on Luxus."
"And before Loca gave it to you, what were you showing as?"
"Quirkless," Leo said. "Officially. On every scan, every system, every record."
