He focuses back at me. “More like I should be worried that you can read me so well these days.”

“These days?” I say with playful bravado to keep the fear from seeping into my voice. “Don’t forget that I was the only one who could spot your lie in deception class.”

At that, he smiles, big and broad. “I will never forget that.”

And for just a split second, the chaos fades and it’s just me and Ash smiling at each other.

Then he sighs. “I actually heard something at the Raven’s Nest that might be pertinent.”

“What kind of something?” I say, looking at him curiously.

“That conversation I joined at the pub? They were talking about a crew based here in London, something about a job gone wrong that resulted in Jag killing the crew leader’s brother along with a couple of other members,” he says.

“Do you think they’re angry enough with Jag that we might be able to convince them to help us?” I say.

“I honestly don’t know. It’s a long shot.”

“But it’s worth a try, right?” I say, and at the hopeful uptick in my voice Ash frowns. I’ve never seen him this worried before and now I wonder if he didn’t tell me about this crew because he didn’t want to take the risk of coming here.

For once, Ash doesn’t try to spin it into a positive. “We’ll want to get in and out as fast as possible,” he says. “There’s no such thing as a no-killing rule here.”

For a brief moment I wonder if we’re making an awful mistake. But there’s no time to stew because he’s out of the car and headed for my door. He offers me his hand and helps me out.

I look down at the jeans I changed into at a rest stop. “Will I be okay in this? I’m guessing by the look of this neighborhood that we’re not going anywhere fancy.”

“More than okay. In fact you might be overdressed,” he says, and leads me into a cobblestoned street that’s closed to cars. It’s lined with small stores ranging from pawnshops to specialty bourbon sellers. I get the sense that a fair amount of the merchandise sold here falls on the illegal-ish line.

We turn down a narrow alley filled with bars that reminds me of a place where pirates and smugglers from a different era might spend their free nights onshore, drinking until they pass out, draped over barrels. I scan the numerous people in the alley, wondering which ones are Strategia, and I pull my coat tighter around my body.