And what if I'm already there, he wanted to say. Maybe he had Prior, but if he had a chance to go home, he'd take in a heartbeat. Maybe. Here, at least, he knew he had a chess player who was at his level. He had his opponent, the person glaring at him. Well, if he was glaring, it was for a good reason. He was doing this for Anatoly's own good.

"Not before you. So, what? Just going to stand there and take it?"