I grin - I can't help it this time, and it seems safe enough to be actually friendly instead of just faking it. "You have to be," I say as I pull my legs back in and fold them under me. "If you can't read between the lines, the E.F. has no use for you. And if you can't read between those lines and know when to keep your mouth shut, nobody will even notice you're missing."

It's a joke that's bandied about quite a bit, but that's mainly because we know it's true. I know Joe's department is a little less lethal, but that's mainly because they can always be demoted to canon fodder. In theory, at least.