“Me neither.”
I pick a thread off my coat.
“I think you owe me cake, boss.”
“No,” he says. “Charles Anpu. Did you see him?”
“He tried to strangle a waiter, so yeah.”
“At council meetings, he’s been pushing us to contribute to Regis International. There’s a good chance they’re connected to Wormwood, which means that he might be connected too.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“I can’t say.”
“I didn’t know the augur had confidential informants.”
“Then you don’t know much about politics.”
“No. I guess I don’t.”
He leans on the edge of the console.
“Then trust me. I know people who know people and they seldom steer me wrong.”
“Okay. Say you’re right. Why don’t you just have Willem and his boy band grab him?”
Abbot shakes his head.
“It doesn’t work like that. Even for the augur, making accusations against a family without solid proof would be dangerous.
It could start a civil war.”
That sounds about right for the Sub Rosa clans. They’re like the Hatfields and McCoys, but with helipads on the roof.
I look up at Abbot.
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Go. Follow them. Sneak into the Anpu estate and see what you can find out.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Abbot holds up his hands, frustrated.
“I know you have powers. You can walk through walls and shadows.”
Willem does his snort laugh.
“Not anymore,” I tell him. “I lost that trick when I saved the world a few months back. Remember when I did that, Willem?”
He plays with his console, ignoring me.
“All right. But you can tail someone. I know that,” Abbot says.
“Your security can’t even handle that?”
“I can’t be seen to be directly involved.”