Dumas smiled when Mari wrapped her arms around him.  Her embrace always made him feel so protected, as if her body was a shelter created just for him.  Placing his hands over hers, Dumas intertwined their fingers, binding them together for just a little while longer.  “You make it very difficult to get out of bed,” he teased.<br/><br/>But grilled cheese sandwiches weren’t going to cook themselves.  Reluctantly, Dumas got to his feet.  He could hear the trepidation in Mari’s voice when she spoke about their upcoming talk and it made him wish that he had better news to give her.  Unfortunately, all he could offer was the truth.  “Yeah,” he conceded.  “Everything is pretty fucked up.”<br/><br/>Glancing around, Dumas spotted his shirt, lying crumpled on the floor where he’d dropped it.  Normally, he was almost compulsively tidy.  But recent events had pushed him outside the realm of typical behavior.  Slightly embarrassed, he picked up the garment and began putting it back on.  “When she left here, Ches and I followed your other self.  Where she went...it made us pretty sure that she’s been working for The Cards.”<br/><br/>Dumas proceeded to give Mari a quick outline of the morning’s events: the two-man assault he and Chester had staged on the Card’s stronghold and his demand that they cut all ties with the other Mari.  “It’s possible that they’ll decide we’re not worth their time.  But honestly, I doubt it.  Ches and I made them look pretty foolish.  And your other self probably knows too much about their operations.”<br/><br/>Reaching out, Dumas clasped Mari’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.  He didn’t want to scare her.  But he felt that it was necessary for her to know the truth about the situation.  Fortunately, he did have a ray of hope to offer her.  “However, even if they do want us all dead, they have to track us down first.  Your other self may be a royal bitch, but she’s not dumb.  She probably gave them false information.  I doubt anyone can find Ches if he doesn’t want to be found.  And I don’t think anyone got a good look at me.  We may have gotten lucky.”