The people that Drake loved and trusted most in the world had built that wall, brick by brick, so slowly that he hadn't noticed it was getting too high to see over until he realized that those people had built fortresses of their own and locked him out. It wasn't long before he began quietly adding bricks on purpose. Every once in awhile, he would open a window or perhaps decide not to shoot at intruders from the battlements. Lowering the drawbridge entirely was something he was still working on.

He pulled back one corner of his mouth in wry annoyance as a response to Clarice waggling the phone.

"So I'm just out of the loop, then. Brilliant. You know, for the next excursion, there really needs to be a briefing where everyone can be assigned a task. No one has contacted me and I've no idea what anyone on the Mudsnort or whatever is purchasing, so...yes, I'm a bit cynical of the whole process so far." He crammed his hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact hard. "I'm also not in the habit of trusting the competence of complete strangers, 'least not without reading their files first. Even then! Save a few planets," he grumbled, "then we'll see. Anyway!" His voiced pitched up again, "Contact information would be helpful, yes, thank you."