"I'm glad I made it back," she retorts, coloring faintly at his expression and not sure why. "One guard! One fucking guard for a five-man civilian team, in unknown territory! An' the goddamned sandstorms on top of it! If it was a regular job I'd be blackballing the Johnson from here to fucking Tir Tairngire!"

She throws up her hands, waving them wildly in the universal gesture of what the fuck.

"I get that they don't care if we live or die but the paid employees, at least - !"

The more outraged she is, the less room for noticing how unexpectedly soft his eyes have gone.