"I'm sorry, too," he says. There's nothing either of them can say to undo what the other has experienced, but John knows what Dutch has been through is significantly worse than his own experience. He knows she can take care of herself, but he's never once feared for his safety in a situation like that. Even before he'd been trained by the military, John had never been afraid to walk down a dark alley or to be alone in a group of men. That's a privilege not everyone has.

"We can make a difference, though," he says as they walk. They don't hurry, which would only draw attention to them, but the act they'd been engaged in earlier has been dropped. "Even if it's just bit by bit."