“Jin?" Kira questioned.
"I didn't, Kira. I swear."
Kira believed him. Jin's loyalty was unquestionable.
"Not on purpose anyway." Odin's smile widened, revealing pointed teeth.
An inarticulate sound escaped Jin, equal parts rage and denial.
"Did you hack my encryption?" he demanded.
Odin's mouth pulled down in a pout. "Was it supposed to be difficult?"
Jin's gasp was outraged. "Did you stick one of your nasty little bugs in my code? You did, didn't you?"
A chortle slipped out of Odin.
Jin fell quiet as he went hunting for the stray code Odin slipped in.
Kira groaned and scrubbed a hand over her face. She was going to hear about this later. "You really know how to leave an impression. He's going to be paranoid for months now."
And Kira would be the one who had to deal with all his neurosis. Last time Odin had performed this stunt, Jin had been insufferable with his security protocols.
Odin slouched in her seat, not the least repentant. "But it's such fun, and I needed him distracted so we can talk. Don't worry. I left him a few toys to make up for the teasing."
Jin was going to need more than a pretty bauble to take out the sting of having his code compromised.
Kira was never going to hear the end of this. He'd blame her because she was the one who found Odin.
The only good thing about being planet-side was he couldn’t use climate control to mess with her.
Odin set her chin on her hand. "It's good to see he hasn't changed at all since the old days."
"Not everything is the same," Kira said, sending a significant glance around the room. It was a far cry from the accommodations of their last meeting.
"No, it isn't," Odin said with a wistful sigh.
Kira caught Finn casting them suspicious looks. He was not happy with her new companion. Not that she blamed him.
"Do you think if I drew the privacy screen, he'd try to remove me?" Odin asked idly, noting where Kira's attention had gone.
"Probably," Kira guessed. "You're welcome to find out."
Odin snorted as she reached into her cloak. "Perhaps another time when the stakes aren't so high."
Odin pressed her thumb on the button of the small ball she held. Kira's ears popped, the murmur of the bar falling away.
Kira sat forward. "What did you just do?"
"We need privacy for this conversation. I simply insured we got some," Odin said.
Kira tensed. Finn wasn't stupid. His paranoia made Kira's look reasonable. If he suddenly couldn't hear them, he was going to know something was wrong. That would lead to him checking on them, which would inevitably give rise to questions. Questions Kira couldn't afford to answer.
"Are you insane? Tech like that will draw notice," Kira hissed.
Odin waved a dismissive hand. "Please, I'm not stupid."
That was an understatement. Odin tested genius level on every aptitude test Kira had ever come across. She made Jin look slow in comparison. Blue would have sold her soul to be able to grasp even a tenth of what Odin understood.
