The change in the alley when he entered was immediate. Three people registered a new presence and adjusted their attention accordingly, and Mike used the adjustment window to cross most of the distance between the entrance and the situation before anyone said anything.

"Would you look at that? Mike said. "I didn’t know that Erosyne has this kind of middle-of-the-night event; it truly is interesting."

Jay turned fully. He recognized Mike immediately because his expression showed the distinct signs of recognition that occur when someone is also recalibrating their threat assessment.

"You again," he said. "Why the fuck did you have to appear like some kind of a savior for this pussy?!"

"Me," Mike agreed.

He stopped about six feet away and looked at Tyler, who was on the ground with his hands up over his face and blood on his knuckles that had come from trying to protect himself.

He took in the entire scene without haste: Tyler’s position on the ground, Jay’s aggressive stance, Cody shifting his weight, and Tobin standing slightly behind the other two. He assessed the layout like he did in most situations, identifying what was useful and what wasn’t.

Then he looked at Jay.

"You can stop now," Mike said, not to Tyler, but to the general situation. "He’s not worth the trouble at all."

"Fuck you!" Cody said. "It’s more like that you should move your ass back and leave."

"Whoa, whoa, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Anyway, since I’m new here, maybe that’s why I should do a lot of things," Mike said. "I usually decide based on what’s worth doing."

He looked at Jay specifically. "This task isn’t worth doing."

"It was at the courtyard this afternoon, and It’s less so now."

"Because now it’s dark," Mike said, "and it’s two AM, and it has crossed from stupid to something that has a different name."

"And you fucking care about this pussy because?" Jay said. "You’re fucking gay, right?"

"Nah, I don’t particularly," Mike said. "I care because he and I have an arrangement, and if he ends up in the hospital, the arrangement is inconvenient."

"An arrangement," Jay repeated. "Gay ass fuck."

He spoke in a manner typical of people who are stalling to formulate their thoughts, while his eyes quickly shifted between Mike’s face, hands, and posture, conducting a swift evaluation. "You know this kid for what, two days? And you have an arrangement."

"I work quickly," Mike said.

"Clearly." Jay’s tone had not shifted toward anything yet.

He was still in the evaluating phase, which Mike had seen before in people who were smarter than they presented. He was observing Jay as he determined which version of the situation was accurate.

"You pulled him out of a courtyard situation this afternoon."

"You followed it up by walking across campus at two in the morning."

"I was in the neighborhood," Mike said.

"Nobody is in this neighborhood at two AM," Cody said.

"Well, surprise, I am," Mike said.

He looked at Cody with the relaxed attention of someone regarding a minor inconvenience. "This appears to be the relevant fact."

Jay looked at Cody. Something passed between them.

Tobin reached into his jacket.

Mike had seen a lot of people reach into jackets for a lot of things in a lot of countries, and the motion had a specific quality when what was coming out was meant to change the nature of a confrontation.

He recognized the signal and reacted as soon as Tobin’s hand began to move. "Don’t tell me Erosyne sells guns legally, because if that’s the case, I’m in real trouble here."

He didn’t focus on Tobin. Instead, his attention shifted to the space between himself and Jay, which altered the dynamics of the situation.

Tobin came out with the knife.

Cody had one too.

Mike glanced at both of them, his expression devoid of alarm. Instead, he regarded them with the specific, unhurried appraisal of someone reading a menu.

Then, he turned his gaze to Jay, the one observing Mike most intently and remaining completely still.

"This is the more complicated version," Mike said. "I told you there were versions."

"We didn’t have this conversation," Jay said.

"We’re having it now," Mike said. "The courtyard was the first version."

"You three... a physics student in a public setting during daylight."

"This scenario is aggressive but manageable if someone reports it."

"Now, consider the second version: the same three people, the same target, but this time at two in the morning, with two knives, in a service alley with no witnesses."

"The versions are becoming increasingly dire."

"For Tyler," Cody said.

"Nah, it’s for you," Mike said. "dumbass."

"Well, there’s a surprise for you." Cody smiled. "There are two of us with knives."

"There are two of you with knives while acting like a goddamn pussy," Mike agreed, "and one of me without one, and somehow I’m the person in this alley who isn’t nervous."

"You should be," Cody said. "Because if you start acting like a pussy seeing these knives, then it won’t be fun at all."

"And I’m curious." Mike looked at him for a moment. "How long have you been carrying that?"

"What?"

"The knife," Mike said. "How long?"

Cody blinked. "Why does that even fucking matter to you anyway?"

"I’m curious whether you’ve ever actually used it or whether it’s decorative," Mike said.

He tilted his head slightly. "Based on how you’re holding it, I’m guessing decorative."

Cody’s grip on the knife tightened, which was the tell Mike had been looking for.

"Shut him," Jay said. "Try not to kill him because that’s my job."

"Kill me?" Mike laughed. "Now that’s a funny joke."

Cody moved first, which was the predictable order based on which one had been more aggressive the first time. He moved with the overconfident directness of someone who had brandished something sharp before and found it was usually enough.

Mike stepped into the motion instead of retreating, which was a sensible choice given that the alternative was to give ground; he moved to the inside of the reaching arm and applied pressure at the wrist, causing the knife to change hands.

"Finder keepers~!" Mike exclaimed as he held the knife in his hand. "Imagine if this is a gun and you manage to fuck it up."

He stepped back.

"Bastard..." Cody was holding his wrist and looking at his empty hand with the expression of someone who had not modeled for this outcome.

"What the fuck was that, Cody?!" Jay shouted. "You fucking dumbass!"

"Decorative," Mike said. "And don’t worry... I’m not a pussy like you guys to use a fucking knife."

"My wrist—"

"Is fine," Mike said. "I didn’t break it."

"I could have done it if I wanted to."

Tobin moved from the left, and he was moving faster than Cody had, with less telegraphing, which was a marginal improvement.

Mike sidestepped and let the motion carry Tobin past him, then placed a hand at the center of Tobin’s back and added to the momentum rather than resisting it.

Tobin hit the alley wall shoulder-first and turned around with the expression of someone who had also not modeled for this outcome.

"Two," Mike said, to no one in particular.

He turned back to Jay.

Jay had not moved yet.

"You’re counting," Jay said.

"Occupational habit," Mike said.

"That’s two disarms and a redirect," Jay said. "You’ve done this before."

"Couple of times," Mike said.

"Where?"

"Several places," Mike said. "Is this a geographical conversation, or are you working up to something?"

Jay smiled then, the flat, controlled smile of someone who had decided where they were in a situation. "You’re enjoying this," he said.

"I’m having a fine time," Mike said.

"That’s a problem," Jay said.

"For you," Mike said. "For me it’s a Thursday, but wait... now’s Friday because of midnight."

Jay moved.

Jay moved differently from Cody, exhibiting the controlled anger of someone who had undergone actual training at some point and was now frustrated enough to use it. Mike noticed that Jay’s movements were faster and more strategic, and he respected this difference as he stepped past the first strike and used Jay’s forward momentum to redirect him sideways into the alley wall.

Jay hit the wall with enough force to matter and turned fast, and they were facing each other with the new geometry established.

"Better?" Mike said. "It would be wise for you to surrender."

"I’m not done, asshole!" Jay shouted.

"I know," Mike said. "I’m saying the first one was better than your friends."

"It’s a low bar, but still."