The urgency in the taps makes Alex frown, and she shifts a bit so that she's sitting cross-legged on her bed. While she's not let go of the restraining hand on his arm, Alex does take her hand off his face just so that it's more comfortable for her to go into thinking mode. Simon was rarely urgent with her, not in the same way and the last time that he had been was for her to come to Turkey in order to touch the Horn of Tiamat. Well, the information from it too, but instinctively Alex knows that it was about more than just the image; it was laying hands against it and the weird energy that it had.

Not that she was going to think about that very much, actually. There's already far too much going on in the here and now for her to think back that far.

"You want me to go to Geneva with Strand." It's not a question, not at all--Alex is just stating the facts of it. But there's all of the other things that happen to be swirling around Geneva, not the least of which is that Alex is fairly certain that Thomas Warren is behind Strand's speaking engagement there. "But he's on the right track with Calvin and the Reformation and me talking to his colleague tomorrow." It's very clear that the 'he' in question is Strand, because who else would it be.

"God, I wish you could tell me why I was dreaming of the Helvetian two years ago before I'd seen that tape of his." As if she realizes what she'd just said, Alex touches his face again. "I fucking hate that they've stolen your voice again."