It wasn't until he'd become Rex's trainer and handler that Six realized that teenagers weren't nearly as deferential to authority figures as he'd been with One. (Then again, most teenagers hadn't been taken in when they'd been a step or two away from dying in an alley and told in no uncertain terms that if they caused more trouble than they were worth, they were being put right back where they'd been found.) Therefore, he bit the inside of his cheek to suppress the reflexive "Don't do that" on the tip of his tongue.

If there was any surefire way to motivate a teenager to do something you didn't want and could probably lead to them getting seriously hurt, it was a flat "no".

He took a bite of his burger, carefully considering his plan of attack.

"It's up to you, but I hope you have the logistics worked out without any of your old contacts to rely on because I can say from personal experience that digging for your meals out of the garbage is hardly worth it even when you're desperate."

Lead the kid into asking the questions so Six can give it to him straight:

It wasn't two garbage organization options and one more pleasant one. It was three very nasty options.