He had his own archived copy of the Drake Report, which synthesized the multi-agency investigations into the President’s death, and when he pulled it up he found his way into the findings, and then into the labyrinth of footnotes. Hoping to see the concrete foundations for the report’s conclusions, he found only provisos and obfuscations, when the details weren’t covered up with actual redactions. But they had confessions from two of the guards who had been part of the conspiracy, confessions that had them and one other colleague now serving time in Quantico, the secret prison that the rebels had pledged to close but instead had maintained “temporarily” to house the most dangerous counterrevolutionaries. It was too elaborate and consequential to be a cover story. But there was one other guard who had escaped arrest, and who some sources said was hiding in New Orleans.

Finding no real answers there, Donny turned his attention back to Slider himself. He looked for more reports on the raid in which Slider had been allegedly killed, but there were only squibs with essentially the same information. He sought information about the underlying case against Heather, which was really against the family business holdings. The best material on that was, to Donny’s surprise, in the business press, handicapping the seemingly small risk of a financially crippling outcome in the series of cases the people’s prosecutors had initiated against them and several other closely held conglomerates. Donny understood the novel legal theories underlying the cases, because he had helped conceive them back when he was still welcome in New Orleans.

That was a deep rabbit hole to go down, and when he finally looked up, it was after five. He had spent the afternoon at the books, and accomplished little other than to make himself hungry and more confused than when he started.

He went next door to Crazy River and grabbed a cricket taco to go. Insects had become a growing part of the American diet, usually processed to remind you of the meat you used to be able to afford. But these were prepared to a recipe older than America, a really good one. And as he sat there at his desk wiping hot sauce from the corners of his mouth, he looked over at Socrates and waited for him to ask the question that would turn the tumblers and solve Donny’s problems. But he couldn’t think anymore, so he decided to stretch his legs.