Alex spells out the transgressions Neil must avoid, and the younger merely files them away for another day. Instead, his smile widens. "Right," he answers.

Let's talk about the difficulties. "I'd originally planned to just talk to them. Get a feel for what I'm missing and research the rest." Like a perfectly good scholar, except-- "I met up with Arcade first, and...it kinda fell apart."

Funny, this. Neil hadn't anticipated this particular reveal. He had thought to take it with him to the grave, as he had more or less told Arcade. Instead, here, he errs on the side of trust and gives it all away.

"Don't take this the wrong way, okay?" begins Neil. "But I've been having issues after...things. Like issues. Down. There." A place he would rather not spell out.