"This city brings you here. It doesn't let you go until it's ready. You might leave soon, but you probably won't," Nova says, because there's no point in spinning it. There's nothing that'll make the truth easier to swallow. "You get money every month and it's a'ight. Pays the rent. Won't get you far after that."

He waits for the elevator to shudder to a stop and for the telltale ding of the old thing.

"You want coffee?"