As he thought. Byerly has been helping, then. In his own Byerly way, maybe not the way he'd do it. But ... he can see the effect, can't he? Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to agree with Piotr after all. Sonia will take Byerly's supposed defection very hard, he think.

He can't possibly risk the mission now. Not when Byerly's life will be on the line. Not when Byerly himself couldn't tell her. But maybe ... maybe he can soften the blow in advance.

"Byerly is a good man," he says, leaning his head lightly against her. "For all that he pretends otherwise. He'd fooled me for quite a while."