He smiles briefly, getting that kind of response. After going this long without finding them, he imagined worse. Finding them chained up somewhere, cursing his name for stranding them again, refusing to listen. It may not have been his fault, but he's well aware that he keeps breaking his promises to them.

That's what makes his answer sound all the more selfish.

"What I need is a break." Before he loses his tenuous grip on sanity. Or maybe he's just tired and it's causing him to make mistakes. That Allison is the one who had to come to him is proof enough that he's slipping. "But since that's not in the cards, I could really use some backup. There's too many people I need to keep an eye on, and I can't be everywhere at once."