Several seconds of relative silence, then Obiaka said, "Okay, cut. Save that. I'll do some voiceover later, but I think that was quite good, don't you think, Mister Canonach?"

What? Cut? All that digging and pushing and admiration, it was all a script or something? Obiaka ignored Mac now. She pushed into an animated three-way conversation with her crew about lighting, angles, and sound quality.

Dougie Mac MacIntyre, you're the dumbest dummy on the face of a woefully dumb world.

He flinched at a nudge from Mave. When he looked, she studied him with interest.

"You never told me that story about the firefighters," she said.

"I didn't think it mattered."

Her regard was steady. Respect showed in her eyes. "It matters to me, D...

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