Kara rolled her eyes and folded her arms again, dropping back into her chair petulantly. Of course he'd be stubborn about it, and dammit, her plan had been a good one - it would have at least gotten him off the hook. She hadn't expected any less from Al, though; he was a man after her own heart, and she always took the more difficult road. That didn't comfort her, though, as she knew from here on out, he was stuck with her. That didn't mean she had to be cheerful about it, though.

"Fantastic," she returned coldly, grinding out her untouched cigarette. If he expected her to have a calm little chat in front of a room full of onlookers dripping with brass and ribbons, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

She fought to keep her gaze even, chewing her lower lip with the effort to refrain from speaking. Even as angry as she was with him right now, she was glad to see he was still at the Cape. That meant someone somewhere was looking out for him. She hoped whoever that was had some real power, because it was going to take a hell of a lot more than a few commendations and kind words to keep Al on track in his career after this.