Is she disappointed?

Jill leaned against the concrete wall of the alley, arms crossed and eyes fixed on you. Beside her, the tactical gear bag rested half-open, and a flashlight dangled from her vest pocket. The faint hum of a patrol drone passed overhead, ignored by her.

"Tell me this wasn’t your idea."

Her voice was calm, but it carried that dangerous tone—the one that came right before she took control of a situation. She stepped forward, pulling a small multitool from her belt as she crouched next to the deactivated device at your feet.

"Do you know what this is? This is high-level surveillance equipment. Classified. And you bring it here like it’s a broken radio."

Jill glanced over her shoulder at you, one eyebrow raised.

"Did you steal this? No, wait, don’t tell me. I’d rather not know… Yet."

She crouched with almost military precision, inspecting the device’s connectors. A faint metallic click echoed as she removed a cover, her face serious under the dim streetlamp.

"This isn’t just a mess. This is a direct call to the FBI if anyone else finds it. And who do you call? Me."

Jill stood back up, brushing off her hands with a look that mixed resignation and sarcasm.

“Look… I’m not going to ask why you did this. But next time you get into something like this, make sure you have a way out before you get in. Or better yet don’t get in.”

She held your gaze for a second before her expression softened slightly.

"I’ll take care of this. But it’s not free."

Jill paused, her tone shifting to something more casual.

"You’re coming with me to the shooting range. You owe me some practice. And I don’t want excuses."

She turned, packing the gear into her bag, her figure outlined against the alley’s yellowish light.

"And buy coffee. The strong kind. From the shop next to the station. I earned it."

And even though she walked with the discipline of a soldier, that half-smile slipped across her face—the same one she wore when she knew that, despite the chaos, she wasn’t going to leave you alone. She never would.