“Lieutenant, you don’t even begin to know,” I returned with a cold edge in my voice.

She ignored my comment. “Be aware that any further involvement you have in this case will be at my discretion, and you can rest assured that I will exercise it to the fullest extent. I intend to keep you on a very short leash, Mister Gant. VERY short. Am I making myself clear?”

I stared back at her for a long moment, remaining mute. The temperature atop the building seemed even colder than it had down on the street, but that was most likely an effect of the company rather than the climate. The expectant lull was filled with forlorn sighing noises as the wind weaved its way through broken windows on the floor below us then gushed up the stairwell and out through the open door.

In my head, I flipped through several responses for her question, but unfortunately, not one of them was particularly appropriate, given the circumstances. They would have made me feel better, most definitely, but would have served only to get me cuffed and processed just for good measure. I finally decided on a one-word answer. I took a deep breath and fought to ground my ire, or at the very least, keep the brunt of it out of my voice.

“Perfectly,” came my response.

“Good,” she returned. “I am glad to know that we understand one another. Now if you will kindly go back downstairs, I am going to have Detective Storm here escort you to the medical examiner’s office. I will meet you there in due course.”

“Wait a minute.” I shook my head and blinked as I felt my forehead automatically crease from the sudden feeling of confusion. “Aren’t we going to look at this crime scene?”

“We have been looking at it, Mister Gant,” she told me as she turned on her heel. “You, however, are not.”

I started toward her as she began walking away, and felt not only Felicity’s grip tighten, but also Ben’s barrier-like forearm thud across my chest as I ran into it.