"I'm not taking your food, Sigma," Howard says quickly, not because he doesn't want it but because he remembers the knife sliding into his shoulder, into his gut, into his back. He can't get weird about food. He can't let himself get weird about food, or Sigma will kill him. Or K. Or someone.

He passes it instead to K. "Look, Siggy Pop, I'm not trying to get harsh on your pets, but we need to be realistic here. Everything your- everything K's saying is right. It's logical."

He raises his gaze to look straight at Sigma. "Okay, so, I met K. You'll still give me a chance to run?" He doesn't much care that K won't understand the reference; what matters is that Sigma does. It means their alliance still exists, if only for the moment, if only because there are still so many people in the Arena.