Doyle glanced at Mitsuko. Her thin, silk-hung shoulders gathered up around her jaw, then abruptly drooped.

“Pirates are . . . chancy, Will.” Rousseau sounded like he’d never heard of pirates and wouldn’t go near one if he had. “Maybe you had a different source in mind?”

Will copied Mitsuko’s big-scale shrug with unconvincing diffidence. “One hears that there are such things.”

“Oh, one does, does one?” Doyle parodied Will’s high tenor perfectly. “You gonna share some of that with us or not?”

“Rumors, Mr. Doyle. Rumors. Nothing we’ve been able to substantiate.”

“Mister Doyle . . .” echoed Doyle softly.

Maxine played with the water rings on the table in front of her. “But if there’s anything to these rumors, they’d be worth chasing down.”

“Who cares where it comes from?” retorted Doyle. “We all need to eat. If Mr. fucking Empire here would favor us with his private fucking info, we could go right to the source!”

Will leaned across his table so far, I thought he’d pitch over. “We have no private info!”

“Gentlemen! Please.” Rousseau held up a staying hand. “Jake, we need to know the full situation at the Souk. First thing tomorrow. But make sure to take backup.”

Spunk waved a tired hand. “I’ll go.”

“And take some of ours,” said Maxine.

Rousseau’s intervention sent a breath of restraint around the tables. Tom Doyle slumped back in his chair, smiling at Mitsuko like he’d made his point. Will Dubowski sat to consult his tablet. Something had been agreed to, an action set in motion, minor as it was. But something was also being avoided.

The gloomy mudroom chorus had resolved itself. Gone to bed or passed out where they were. Instead, in Main, a rustling like leaves. Folks getting ready to head home.

“But, my friends . . .” Zuleika stirred in her wedge between the tables. I wanted to touch the shining, intricate braiding of her hair. “We must focus our energies on improving our own means of production! Clearly, we can no longer rely on the Mainland. For anything.”

And there it was. The elephant in the room. The conclusion no one wanted to face. What were the dens without the Mainland? It had been central to all visions of our future. Weren’t we all headed over there, as soon as possible? Mutters floated up from behind the tables. Not all the remaining spectators had fallen asleep.

Doyle roused from his slump. “First we need to focus on our means of defense!”

“Or offense,” Maxine said.

“Yes!” Doyle was eager to claim an ally. “What I’ve been saying! We got to arm up! Be ready for ’em next time! If BlackAdder can access heavy weaponry and powerboats, so can we. Where’s it all coming from?” He jerked a thumb at Empire Will. “I’m betting Biz Guy can tell us! You think all their corporate connections washed away with the Wave?”