“Do you think I have not tried?”
“No.”
Lenrog laughs softly. “Fair. I have tried in the ways men like me try. Money. Limits. Warnings. Opportunities to be useful. Consequences.” He sets his glass down. “Ron mistook each boundary for a challenge. When you tore out his nose ring, you taught him more in ten seconds than my lectures taught in ten years.”
“He will retaliate.”
“Yes.”
“You say that calmly.”
“Panic is undignified and rarely profitable.”
I lean forward. “If he touches her again?—”
“He should not.”
“That is not an answer.”
Lenrog meets my eyes. His are dark, intelligent, and steady. “No, Kauss. It is not. It is a fact that sane men will respect and fools will test. My concern is that you and Ron are becoming symbols to each other, and symbols are expensive. Especially in a neighborhood as combustible as Halo.”
“What do you want?”
“I want order.”
“You want control.”
“Order is control with better manners.”
“At least you admit it.”
“I admit many things. Honesty saves time when lying offers no advantage.”
The food arrives then, unrequested. Small plates. Grilled meat, roasted peppers, corn cakes, beans in dark sauce, sliced fruit dusted with red spice. It smells rich, smoky, bright with lime and heat. My stomach notices despite my irritation.
Lenrog gestures to the plates. “Eat.”
“No.”
“If I wanted poison, I would choose something less insulting to the chef.”
“I did not come for dinner.”
“No. You came because if you refused, you worried my interest would move closer to Sweet Tooth.” He smiles faintly. “Which was wise.”
My hand closes around the water glass hard enough that the stem cracks.
Lenrog glances at it. “Please do not break the tableware. It’s imported.”
I release the glass.
A thin line of water leaks onto the linen.
Lenrog dabs it with his napkin as if we are discussing weather. “The Poison Memories are useful in certain corners. Not elegant. Not disciplined. But useful. They move product through streets where refined men do not care to step. They frighten people who only understand simple language. They also keep worse pests from crawling into Halo.”
“They are the worse pests.”
“From your perspective, yes. From mine, they are a low-grade infection that prevents necrosis.”
