“I don’t know,” I said. “From what Wójcik said, any major outbreak of violence would only sell more guns. Kuga has the NRA leadership on the payroll, too. And, for the record, neither Kuga nor any of his people give a rat’s hairy dick about the Second Amendment except that maintaining the current interpretation of it is good for business. It’s not politics; they’re neither left nor right. They just want to sell product.”

Toys drank some wine, nodding as he swallowed. “As criminal enterprises go, it’s rather clever. Brilliant, actually. Let the ideologues handle the rhetoric and never let them know they’re really point men for a sales force. Bloody marvelous.”

I shrugged, then also nodded. “It’s smart business, if you’re a greedy, murderous sociopath.”

“Oh, I spit on parlor psychoanalysis.”

“Do you disagree, though?”

He sighed again. “Not at all.”

I told him about following the money based on the info Wójcik gave me and how that led me to a series of small hits. Each time inching toward someone who might put me on Santoro’s scent. However, each time I felt like I was getting closer, all I did was find another bad guy working for the company.

“What happened to these individuals?” asked Toys. “Or is that a pointless question?”

I said nothing.

“Ah,” he said. “So, let’s see, did all that mayhem finally bring you back to Italy?”

“Yes.” And I went over the hit on Fong. “His intel brought me here to Rotterdam, and I got some good intel about someone who actually does know where Kuga and Santoro might be.”

“Well, that’s bloody brilliant,” said Toys, brightening. “If you’re going out again, I’d be happy to accompany you.”

I shook my head. “The guy I’m looking for isn’t here.”

“Where, then?”

“Germany.”

“Where in Germany?”

“Someplace I can’t actually go,” I said. “Somewhere I can’t get to him.”

The truth was that I had a name—including a key member of the Kuga organization with the unlikely name of Diego Casanova. However, Casanova was currently incarcerated in a black site prison in Berlin. I briefly considered asking Toys to ask Church about seeing if the man could be extradited and sent to Phoenix House for questioning. De Vries and Fong both said that he was in Kuga’s inner circle.

But I didn’t say any of that to Toys.

I wanted to, but the Darkness didn’t let me. And, yeah, that’s real damned hard to explain.