"That's rough, Jason," said Canada. "But I think the worst part of that is that it's not even dying on your feet. It's dying in a pit. Their rules, their game, their system right to the end. They don't even have to lift a finger."

Again, the shield is a pillar. The only support she has. She lifts herself up on it, aching joint after aching joint pulling her up, all that weight resting on the top of that mighty shield. Without it she'll fall, so fast and so far and so deep.

"The least you can do is make the bastards work for it. Right?"