“Feels almost like real agent work, doesn’t it?” Barron says as we walk down the street, heads bowed against the wind. “You know, if we caught your girlfriend committing a crime, I bet Yulikova would give us a bonus or something for being prize pupils.”

“Except that we’re not going to do that,” I say.

“I thought you wanted us to be good guys.” He grins a too-wide grin. He’s enjoying needling me, and my reacting only makes it worse, but I can’t stop.

“Not if it means hurting her,” I say, my voice as deadly as I can make it. “Never her.”

“Got it. Hurting, bad. But how do you excuse stalking her and her friends, little brother?”

“I’m not excusing it,” I say. “I’m just doing it.”