Goemon offered Galina a small smile, absently swirling the wine in his glass, seemingly unconcerned by her sudden rousing suspicion. Oh, he [i]was[/i] concerned, the sweat on the back of his neck and under the sleeves of his coat running cold as he worked to keep composed on the surface.

"I don't see it as a shame, and yes, Miss Galina Demidova, I am [i]convinced[/i] I brought the person I needed. It often seems precision and planning accomplish more than brawn could dream of... even if the task seems to require the latter."

Daisuke would not be pleased to hear that comment. Takahiro's fist took as much pride in his role as Goemon did in his own, and there were just as many times where brawn was found needed when precision and planning collapsed before the finish. Luckily, however, Daisuke wasn't around, and so Goemon could continue climbing out of this whole in peace.

"The Lifeboats on this vessel are quite easy to lower, and provide both a buffer between this ship and my companion's, as well as a more stable platform to descend and cross over from. I've helped board others [i]onto[/i] vessels with this plan, and from what I've seen around the ship so far, the reverse should not be hard to accomplish."

He took far more care in his words this time, noting with grave importance how quickly she had latched on to the brief comment he had made before. She didn't trust him in the [i]least[/i], a fact that his constant reassurances and compromises had not helped -and maybe had made worse. But admitting the lie would be worse, far worse, than almost any other option. When dealing openly with another spy, you didn't admit lies like that. It marked you as weak, desperate, even pitiful. If such a light jab sent him stammering with confession, how could he [i]ever[/i] convince her to work with him?

No, Goemon had more pride in his words than that.

"In the worst case -say the weather worsens by the time you are ready to depart- I have found out a few people who I could convince to helping us. Notably among the engineers Mister Selvin advises, it's not a risk I'd like to take, but I'd rather have the option than none at all."