Penza cringes away, thinking better of her 'get in the way' plan once it looks like the man might actually trip over her. She doesn't get out of Arista's way, though, just lowers her ears and tail and quietly, uneasily holds her ground. She doesn't want to fight this cat, but her eyes are on those claws.

Yuri withdraws his hand, fingers clenching into a fist he isn't aware of, much less intends to use. What is this guy's problem? What did he do in the ROMAC base that he's so afraid to admit to? Who did he kill? "Was it a kid?" he asks harshly, the words sounding alien once they're out in the air. "Was it a teenage boy? Did he -- did the person you killed look like me?"

Because yes, he's going to assume by this point that it was Rush himself who did the deed.