I strode after her quickly, grasping her by the shoulders and stopping her.

"Krista, you can't walk away from me on this. Have you heard or understood a single word I've said? If we can't communicate, we can't do this thing!"

I looked in her eyes to see if there was any hint that she was paying attention, that she was somewhere in the real world right now. Because she was frustrating me, and I was about ready to forget about the revenge thing and walk away. I was willing to risk my life and freedom to punish Doctor Asshole. But I wasn't doing it unless I had a chance of success... and right now I had none.