“Yeah, I’ve changed,” she says. “You haven’t.”

“I’ve changed plenty,” I say. “Got my anger management issues under control and everything.” She raises an eyebrow in disbelief. “If I hadn’t, I’d have shot you already. Now talk, or I might have a relapse.”

“You’ve been getting a lot of people’s attention lately. Not all of them want to kill you.”

“That’s a relief. I can rest easy knowing that it’s only most people who want to kill me. But you’re part of the Cleanup Crew. If everybody else is gunning for me, it’s in your best interest to do the same. So how come you aren’t? If you’re one of the people who doesn’t want to kill me, why?”

“Me, and a couple of . . . associates . . . have a proposition for you. Mutually beneficial. I was trailing you since you left the warehouse. When I saw what was happening, I swapped cars and came to help. By that time Werther was already doing his thing, and I couldn’t think of anything to do but run him over.”

“A woman after my own heart,” I say. “Mutually beneficial, huh? Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the offer?”

She shakes her head. “We need the others. I only know the gist of it. They’ve got the details.”

“All right, let’s start with the gist, then.”

“We know who’s framing you and we want to help you get her.”

That was unexpected.

“Her?”

“No,” she says. “No more questions until we get there.”

“Where is there?”

“David Chu’s house.” She says it like it should mean something to me.

“Never heard of him.”

“L.A. City Council? Running for mayor? Nothing?”

“You’re making noises with your mouth, but I’m not sure you’re actually speaking English.”

“Jesus,” she says, shaking her head. “You don’t pay much attention to the world around you, do you?”

“I figure the world can take care of itself. Mostly I’m focusing on not dying. I’m not a fan of mage politics. Tends to get you dead. Goes against my core ethos of not dying.”

“You’re not going to have a choice,” she says.

“Dying? Eventually, sure. But that sounds like a threat,” I say, looking at the gun in my hand. “What do you think Mister Trigger Finger? Does it sound like a threat to you? Mister Trigger Finger thinks that sounds like a threat.”

“Maybe Mister Trigger Finger needs to reel it in a bit and calm the fuck down. Jesus, how has nobody murdered you yet?”

“Oh, you know. That which does not kill me needs to up its game.”