She nods. "Like I said," she says. "It was a pragmatic decision."

Her armor is going up; twenty years of suburbia melting away before their eyes. The woman underneath is like a statue carved out of stone. "We set out on our journey, and along the way we found work. Important work. We did the job. We paid the price. And after that... only the destination was left, and it wasn't worth it anymore. Not to me, not the way things were."

"We didn't get many choices on that road. When I had a chance to get out, I took it."