“That’s subjective.”

“Uh-huh. Two-way street, Row. You aren’t exactly the pinnacle of objectivity yourself.”

As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. Of course, that didn’t mean I had to like it. “Well, it’s still annoying.”

“Yeah, well so’s when you talk to dead people the rest of us can’t hear.”

Felicity piped up, a matter-of-fact tone permeating her voice. “Aye, Ben’s right.”

“What do you mean?” I scrunched my forehead as I spoke. “You’ve ventured over to the other side yourself as I recall.”

“Not about that.” She dismissed my comment with an impatient shake of her head. “About your giving Lieutenant Albright a reason to arrest you, then. If you don’t calm down, you’re going to do just that.”

“You’re not gonna win, Row,” Ben offered. “Especially if you play ‘push me-shove you’ with her. She’ll knock your ass down and kick you while you’re there.”

“Whatever happened to the whole ‘to protect and serve’ thing?” I asked.

“Number one,” he returned, “you’ve been watchin’ too much TV. And number two, never pull the ‘taxpayin’, law-abidin’ citizen who pays your salary’ crap with a copper. Trust me, it just pisses us off.”

“So, it’s okay for her to treat me like a criminal?”

“How many times have I gotta tell ya’, Row? This is reality. She’s holdin’ the cards here, not you.”

“Yeah, I know,” I grudgingly admitted. “But she’s still getting to me.”

“That’s YOUR problem, then,” Felicity said. “You know how to get around that. Ground and center yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” I said as I pulled my glasses off and rubbed my eyes, lingering for a moment as I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger.

“How’s your head?” Felicity asked, her voice still edgy but softened by a few degrees of concern.

“Killing me,” I answered.

“Twilight Zone?” Ben asked.