"Even so," Cullen agrees. "She's been hunting a cure for how long, now? You made it possible for her to interview a good source who has already produced a few leads to follow. She's not likely to give up control, after all that. You're doing her a favor, letting her run the show."

Pause. Then, lower:

"And if I thought she resented you for it, at all, I'd run her out of the arling myself."