Nel felt the approach coming, and she was already eyeing the doorway when Hojo came through it. She hadn't seen him before and he was somehow exactly what she expected, in his white coat and tied back hair that didn't look like he'd washed it today, and yet not what she'd expected at all. He looked younger than she'd pictured, for one, although he wasn't young. He also had terrible posture.

And he stank of cigarette smoke. Nel could smell it from where she sat, and she curled a lip.

She sat up a little straighter when he went up to Kadaj. Kadaj, she knew, could be volatile if pushed. He'd been okay with Even, but Even hadn't walked up to him and looked at him like he was under a microscope. She was on guard for this going badly.