"Best thing for them," he says, with a grin; one of the things they share is zero love for the police. But he thinks about Ren's question, calculation written on his face. "Would you have noticed it?"

He doesn't particularly feel a tie to any of the Palaces he's been in, but perhaps Ren is different? "I knew there was a chance you'd see it still in the Nav. But, to be honest, I was hoping you'd be too busy to check. They do take time to come down, sometimes." But not days, and he knows that.

Nerves flutter in his stomach again, against the back of his neck; the feeling of someone walking over his grave, and those of all his friends. "It was the only chance we had, Ren. Everything was stacked against us. We had to take the gamble."

It's a compliment, of sorts.