Partners

 "Wait, is this about--"

"No, it's not," Jill says. "Seriously."

Both of them now glance at Barry, and Barry looks back at them with a dry expression.

"You're sleeping together," Barry says. "You've been sleeping together for weeks. I know."

Of course he knows. It was stupid to think he didn't. Both Chris and Jill look at each other guiltily and adjust their posture, going from conspirators to reasonable adults.

"All right," Chris says, "then why do you want to stay here?"

Jill taps a map of Raccoon City that Chris has taped up on the wall. He's marked a specific location with pushpins, where a half-drunk construction worker mentioned some weird additions that his company was hired to make to an old sewer tunnel. "I think we need to check this out at some point. They put a lot of resources into this, from what you're telling me, and I can see a few holes in their security. I have the best chance of getting in and back out without them noticing."

"It's a risky play, Jill," Barry says.

"And going off to Europe on a hunch isn't? I think this is our best course of action," Jill says. "You guys work it from your end, and I'll work it from here."

Chris thinks about that, then turns to Barry. "Can we have a minute?"

"Sure." Barry stands up, picks up his beer, and takes it with him out into Chris's front yard.

"We're a team," Chris says to Jill, "and I don't like you being alone."

"How could you possibly help with an infiltration job, Chris?" She's calm, reasonable, and correct.

"Okay," he says, "You're a trained soldier and you're good at this. I know that, but I have to ask: this isn't about us, is it?"

"Oh, for God's sake." Jill sits down heavily on the couch. "No. I'm not volunteering to infiltrate a heavily secure illegal facility by myself because I feel guilty about sleeping with you."

"So you honestly think it's a good idea?"

"Yes!"

They stare at each other for a minute and Chris belatedly realizes that he's fucked up. There are a dozen tells Jill's got right now that he wouldn't have noticed a month ago and they all say that she's fire-and-brimstone pissed off.

"Fine," he says finally. "We'll do it your way."

"Thank you."