Viola parked her rugged car in the outskirts area and killed the engine out past the last streetlight. She then handed Xavier a little white pill cupped in her palm like it was nothing. Her hands were steady. The night smelled of wet tar and something burned two blocks over.
"What's this?" Xavier asked, turning it over between his fingers.
"Sleeping pill," she responded immediately as though she was expecting that question. "Eat it."
He blinked. "Why do I have to eat it? I can fake it. Collapse, snore, whatever—"
She cut him off with a look. "Fake and real read differently on scanners. Pulse, brain waves, micro-twitches. You get scanned once and they'll know."
Xavier swallowed and laughed dry. "What if I don't wake up. What if it drags me down and everything goes to shit?"
