Morning, Greta. Surprised to see me?"

Marsalis." She spat it out, temper snapping across. What the fuck do you think you' re doing?"

He stepped carefully into the office, skirting Isaac' s toppled bulk with cat-like care and a wary sideways glance. Behind him, through the open door, she saw Salesi stretched out unmoving on the chessboard white-and-gray pavement of the courtyard like a beached whale. Marsalis didn' t have a mark on him; didn' t even appear to be breathing heavily. He stood just inside reaching distance and looked impassively at her.

I haven' t had much sleep, Greta. I' d bear that in mind if I were you."

I' m not afraid of you."

He saw it was true. Smiled a little. I guess not. Welcome to the twist brotherhood, right? Al just monsters together."

I repeat." She stepped away from the desk corner, straightened up to him. What the fuck do you think you' re doing?"

I might ask Manco the same question. See, I' ve been pretty polite so far. Couple of quick conversations and I' m out of your hair for good. No damage, no disruption, everybody' s happy. That' s the way I wanted it, anyw- "

We don' t always get what we want, Marsalis. Didn' t your mummy ever tell you that?"

Yeah. She also told me it was rude to interrupt." He reached in, whiplash-swift, and her sunglasses were gone, plucked into his hand. Her vision watered and swam. Like I said, Greta, I could have been out of everyone' s hair in nothing flat. Instead, last night, while I was on my way here to talk to you, someone paid a bucketful of your il ustrious local military to have me disappeared."

She blinked hard to clear her vision. Silent curse at the tears it squeezed visibly out at the corners of her eyes.

What a shame they didn' t manage it."

Yeah, wel , you just can' t get the help these days. Point is, Greta, who do you think I should blame?"

She tipped her head to look past him at the crumpled form by the door. Looks to me like you' ve already decided that one."

You' re confusing purpose with necessity. I don' t think your islander friends would have been overkeen on us al having a sitdown chat."

She met his gaze. I don' t seem to be sitting down."

For a moment, they stared at each other. Then he shrugged and tossed her sunglasses onto the desktop.

He nodded at the chair behind the desk.

Be my guest."

She made her way around the edge of the desk and seated herself. At the door to the little office, Isaac stirred, shook his head muzzily. Marsalis glanced his way, looked back at Greta and pointed a warning finger, then crossed to where the Samoan lay. Isaac snarled and spat blood, glaring up at the black man in disbelieving rage. He braced his arms at his sides, and pressed huge hands flat to the floor.

You stand up," Marsalis said without passion, I wil kil you."

The Samoan didn' t appear to hear. His arms flexed, his mouth formed a grin.

Isaac, he means it." Greta leaned over the desk, put urgency into her tone. He' s thirteen. Unluck. You stay where you are. I' l square this."

Marsalis shot her a glance. Generous of you."

Fuck you, Marsalis. Some of us got loyalties past getting paid." Sudden, unstoppable, cavernous yawn.

Wouldn' t expect you to understand that."

Am I keeping you up?"

Fuck off. You want to ask me questions, ask me. Then get the fuck out."

You talk to Manco today?"

No."

He seated himself on the edge of the desk. Yesterday?"

Before he went to meet you. Not since."

Why would he use the army and not familia talent?"

You' re assuming it was him."

He came close to greasing me himself, up at Sacsayhuaman. Yeah, I' m assuming this was him."

You got no other enemies?"

I think we agreed I was asking the questions."

She shrugged. Waited.

Manco got any interests up in Jesusland?"

That I know of? No."

The Rim?"

No."

He had a cousin did jail time in Florida. Wore a jacket just like this one, apparently. Know anything about that?"

No."

You guys move medical tech at all?"

She held down another yawn. If it pays."

Heard of a guy called Eddie Tanaka?"

No."

Texan. Strictly small-time."

I said no."

What about Jasper Whitlock?"

No."

Toni Montes?"

No."

Allen Merrin?"

She threw up her hands. Marsalis, what the fuck is this? Gone Walkabout? Do I look like Shannon Doukoure to you? We' re not a fucking missing persons agency."

So you don' t know Merrin?"

Never heard of him."

What about Ulysses Ward?"

She sat back in the chair. Sighed. No."

Manco treat you okay, Greta?"

She flared again, for real this time. That' s none of your motherfucking business."

Hey, I' m just wondering here." He gestured. I mean, you' re good looking and all, but in the end you' re a twist, just like me, and- "

I am nothing like you, unluck," she said coldly.

- we all know how the familias feel about twists. I don' t imagine Manco' s any different from the other taytas. Must be tough for you."

Greta said nothing.

Well?"

I didn' t hear you ask me a question."

Didn' t you?" He grinned mirthlessly. My question, Greta, was how does a gringa hib twist like yourself end up working front office for the familias?"

I don' t know, Marsalis. Maybe it' s because some of us twists can transcend what it says in our genes and just get on and do the work. Ever think of that?"

Greta, you' re asleep four months out of every twelve. That' s going to put a serious dent in anyone' s productivity. Add to that you' re white, you' re a woman, and you' re not from here. The familias aren' t known for their progressive attitudes. So I don' t see any way this works, unless my sources are right and you' re fucking the boss."

Across the room, Isaac' s eyes widened with disbelieving fury. She caught his gaze and shook her head, then fixed Marsalis with a stare.

Is that what you' d like to believe?"

No, it' s what Stefan Nevant tel s me."

Nevant?" Greta sneered. That shithead? Fucking wannabe pistaco, too stupid to realize- "

She stopped, sat silent.

Fucking end-of-cycle slippage, she knew dismally. Fucking traitorous genetic bullshit modifi- Marsalis nodded. Too stupid to realize what?"

To realize. That he needed us, and we didn' t need him at all."

That' s not what you were going to say."

Oh, so now you' re a fucking telepath?"

He got off the edge of the desk. Let' s not make this more unpleasant than it' s got to be, Greta."

I agree. In fact, let' s stop this shit right now."

The new voice held them both frozen for a pair of seconds. Greta locked onto the figure in the doorway, then looked back just in time to see Marsalis' s face slacken into resignation. His lips formed a word, a name, she realized, and realized at the same moment, confusedly but surely, that it was all over.

Sevgi Ertekin stepped into the room, Marstech Beretta in hand.

In the taxi, they sat with a frigid thirty centimeters of plastic seat between them and stared from opposite side windows at the passing frontages. Outside, the sun was on its way up into a sky of flawless blue, striking the early-morning chill out of the air and lighting the white volcanic stonework of the old town almost incandescent. Traffic already clogged the main streets, slowed passage to a jerky crawl.

We' re going to miss our fucking flight," she said grimly.

Ertekin, this place has a dozen flights a day to Lima. We' ve got no problem getting out of here."

No, but we' ve got a big fucking problem making the Oakland suborbital out of Lima if we miss this flight."

He shrugged. So we wait in Lima, catch a later bounce to Oakland. This guy they' ve found is dead, right? He' s not in a hurry."

She swung on him. What the fuck were you doing back there?"

Working a source, what did it look like?"

To me? Looked like you were winding up to beat a confession out of her."

I wasn' t looking for a confession. I don' t think she knows about our little reception committee last night."

Shame you didn' t think to find that out before you cut loose on the hired help."

Carl shrugged. They' ll live."

The one out in the courtyard may not. I checked him on my way in. At a guess I' d say you fractured his skull."

That' s hardly the point."

No, the point is that I told you we were done here. I told you we were going to stay put in the hotel until we were ready to fly out. The point is that you told me you would."

I couldn' t sleep."

She said something in Turkish under her breath. He wondered whether to tell her the truth: that he had slept, but not for very long. Had stung himself awake with dreams of Elena Aguirre muttering behind him in the gloom of Felipe Souza' s cargo section, had thought for one icy moment that she stood there beside the bed in the darkened hotel suite, staring down at him glitter-eyed. He' d dressed and gone out, itching to do violence, to do anything that would chase out the remembered powerlessness.