Pens. There’s a lot of pens. Ow. My neck. My neck hurts. Why does my neck hurt? Pen. There’s a pen in my hand. I guess I’m supposed to sign something. There are so many people. The lights are hot. I was just at the beach, wasn’t I?

“Sign the paper in front of you,” a voice says in my ear.

“Who is this?” I mutter. “Neilia? Is that you?”

“Please don’t raise your voice.”

“What?”

The voice in my ear makes a noise. A sigh. I figured it out. It’s called a sigh. The lights are hot. I was just at the beach, wasn’t I? I remember a dog. Champ. Where’s Champ?

“Where’s Champ?” I ask.

“Champ’s not important right now,” the voice says. “You can see him later.”

“I don’t like this sort of malarkey,” I say.

“Please just sign the bill in front of you.”

“Bill. Is this a restaurant?”

“You are signing a bill into law.”

“What’s the total? I don’t even see a place to write in a tip.”

“Please just sign it.”

J. O. E. I think the next one is a B.

“OK, now just put the pen down.”

Pen. Pen. Pen. Pen is a funny word. People are clapping. It is loud. Oh, it’s that one guy. I hand him the pen. People are still clapping. I must have done a good job. Smile. I’ll smile. People love it when I smile. Smile. Smile is a funny word.

“OK, put on your mask and stand up.”

Mask. I must be a superhero. Clapping. Still clapping. I’ll shake hands. People like it when you shake hands. Wasn’t I just on the beach? I miss the beach. Shaking hands, shaking hands, shaking hands. Smile under the mask.

Chuck’s earpiece crackles to life. “Do it, we’re losing him.”

“Do it?” Chuck asks.

Finnegan hisses in his ear. He fumbles the autoinjector from his suit pocket and stabs Joe discreetly in the thigh.