"Well... No offense meant, ma'am, but I've had pretty high clearance for. A pretty long time." He ducks his head, listening and watching her from under furrowed brows.

This is hitting close to home. Really close to home. Right over the plate, in fact, and Steve is about as good at hiding that as he is at hiding anything.

He gets up rather than trying to meet her eyes again, paces to the door, and then forces himself to calm down before he walks back and sits down.

He still can't quite look at her. "Excuse me. How did you..." A vague gesture. "What landed you here? I mean, how did you do it?"