And it was time to be professional. Major Fuhito and a trio of security personnel were coming down the front steps. In contrast to his crisply uniformed aides, Fuhito’s clothes looked slept in. He was heavy-eyed and his movement slow. As they approached her and the serpent, she noted that the major’s gait was unusual. In the tight burst of speech that passed for a whisper among dracoforms, Tessien confirmed what she had concluded.