They count coup: confirmed kills, unverified kills—which covers the halo of supposed inhabitants or workers within a given area when they destroy en masse—and sometimes when the weight gets too heavy, they count things they aren’t required to.

“Five confirmed lives saved. Seventeen unverified.”

“Ten confirmed saved.”

They pass the tea back and forth, alcohol warm on throats too young to be drinking it, and it almost washes away the taste of blood in the backs of their mouths.

Because they don’t care about those numbers. They care about mission success rates, intelligence gathered, acceptable cost.

“Mission success.”