Billy came along, more than willingly. They stepped out onto the balcony, and the bite of the air cleared his head for a moment. He kept leaned into Goodnight, close, despite the relative publicity of a balcony. They'd been this close on private balconies and porches before; he wasn't worried about it.

"I have to pass all the sections," Billy said, "and then there are other tests I can take throughout the year to prove that I know certain things. The preliminary classes. Academy. It's a lot of work for something that used to just be a badge."