"You look beautiful," he answers and although this is all an act, that much is true. John doesn't dwell on what ifs very often, but he has to imagine, in a different life, he and Dutch would have found themselves in a very different arrangement. The friendship they have now is important to him, more than he knows how to say, but he's hardly blind to how stunning she really is.

"And deadly," he adds, his smile growing just a little. "My favourite combination."

He reaches for his water glass and takes a sip, uses it to cover his mouth just for a moment so he can ask, "You're armed, right?" He assumes she is, Dutch isn't the sort to go into something like this without some sort of weapon, but he needs to be absolutely sure what they're working with before they try anything.