The silence stretches painfully, and I feel the irrational urge to babble just to fill time. But before I lose it, Blake nods slowly. "The Eighty-Eights," he muses, "yes. An object lesson to others, hmm?" He smiles at Vladimir, who nods too. "You’ve got a free hand to approach the Ancients leadership about compensation," Blake tells his advisor. "It’s your baby."