She nods. "A dead language from another world. I can understand it, sometimes, and we've got a lot of experts on payroll, too. I think we're getting there."

She hopes.

There's the murmur of Fur Elise from the pocket of her chair, and she apologizes as she gets out her cell. "All right. All right. I'll be home shortly."

"Small family emergency. I'll talk to you boys later, all right? Have a good night." For a moment she hesitates, as if about to add something else, but in the end she doesn't.