"I may not recover so well if she decides to sic her Roman friend upon me again." In a strange way, it hurt to be using Venus in this way. She had done the same to him any number of times, invoking his name when it was convenient or would make for an interesting plot twist. She was simply better at compartmentalizing all of it, of taking the utilitarian aspect of personal relationships in stride. It wasn't something everyone, not even everyone among the people in Panem, were capable of. Again, he forced himself out of the such reflection. Insomnia would see to it that he had plenty of time for such examinations later. "You should meet him as well."

He needed to take a census, assemble a list, preferably mental, as physical evidence could undoubtedly be used against them, of everyone on whom they could rely. Such a task would not be easy, and would require even more deception, even more questions veiled beneath other questions. More than that, however, it would require common cause, and faith that any answers he received could be trusted at all. Faith was becoming a challenge for him of late.

"I'll invite Maximus to dinner with the three of us," Enjolras nodded to Joly, then to the ghostly blue image of Courfeyrac, distorted by the projection screen and the dust of the Arena around him. "Provided he doesn't still wish to kill me, of course. He is very honorable, I assure you. A true Centurion of the Roman Republic who fought alongside Marcus Aurelius. He is simply too overprotective of Venus, though I can hardly blame him."