“Looking around. She was thinking of moving in, but she didn’t like how long it took us to turn up,” Prancer said.

“She’s aware we were watching her, isn’t she?”

“No. And she doesn’t give a shit, either. I outright told her and she was more concerned about the fact we hadn’t shown ourselves sooner. She’ll be a problem if she sticks around.”

“What kind of problem?”

Tristan, Rain, and Chris had stopped what they were doing and drew close, to listen and watch.

“She was quick to talk about supplanting the local leadership. We operate with a soft hand and she seems like the sort that respects only firm ones. There’s more to it, ties into something we’ve heard from… key voices. I’d rather have that conversation somewhere more private than this.”

“Do you want me to deal with her?” Nailbiter asked, her words whistling through her teeth.

“No,” Prancer said.

“Why am I here then?”

“Because I think you and her are similar. You respect strength, you know how power works. You’ve dealt with scary customers. If we end up interacting with her more, and especially if she moves into the neighborhood, I think we want you to be on point, interacting with her more.”

“I can do that. She was Slaughterhouse?”

“Briefly, and you were Birdcage. I think a lot of the same principles apply.”

Nailbiter chuckled, a wheezy, whistling sound. “I never thought of that. Probably.”

“If this visitor of ours winds up being a problem, I don’t want you stepping into the fray against her.”

“Why not?” Nailbiter asked.

“Because I don’t know how it would turn out. I’d rather make moves where I know the result in advance.”

“Whatever,” Nailbiter said.

Velvet made a sound, then drew closer to Prancer, putting her arm around him. He put his arm around her. “Not whatever. I like that kind of thinking.”

“Thank you,” Prancer said.

“I’m curious what that thing is that you don’t want to talk about in the open,” Velvet said. “Can we go inside?”

“We can. You’re free to carry on with your day, Nailbiter. Thanks for coming. Pill, I want to ask you about some import-export work. Can you come?”

There was no sound from Bitter Pill, only a nod that the camera caught.

The group split up, Nailbiter walked away. The trio headed into an alleyway. The airborne camera moved, trying to get a view of the alley interior, and only saw a door close.

The image changed, as Kenzie typed. It showed an overhead map of the area. Kenzie marked the building they’d entered with a red highlight and a little flag icon, then began typing out a note.

“Can you get sound of building interiors?” I asked.

“Kind of not really,” Kenzie said.

“That’s real clear,” Chris said.