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"I’

"In certain circles, in certain media circles, people knoho you are" Delta this tiet"

Palakon and Crater nod subtly

"There were certain aspects of your life that your father felt were affecting"-Delta pauses-"certain possibilities fro"

"Listen, Victor," Crater says impatiently "Your dad basically wanted you to take a vacation"

"Why did he want that?" I ask slowly, in a very restrained voice

"He felt that some of your antics, let’s say" Palakon has trouble co on the table, as the roo" Palakon pauses "They were unnecessary There was the possibility of bad publicity," he delicately adds

"There was a concern that things ht not fall into place properly," the Japanese ht not work out in New Hao there quite yet;" Palakon says, cutting him off

"Yes, of course," the Japanese ht"

"Victor, your father didn’t want you harmed in any way," Palakon says "He simply wanted you to, well, take a break for a little while He wanted you preoccupied He didn’t want you in the States" Palakon pauses "So he caeraceless I’ at them, unable to take all this in because of certain details my mind cannot accept, and that lack of acceptance keeps spreading and I’ boarded up and it’s night and no one has said or is going to say who they really are

We’ll slide down the surface of things

It’s what you don’t know that hts itself

Outside, thunder

You are beyond uneasiness You force yourself to look at the over You try to care But you can’t Even if you wanted to, you can’t And now, in this room, it occurs to you that they know this too Confusion and hopelessness don’t necessarily cause a person to act So tio Only now does it resurface Only now does itto me

"Why did you use Jamie Fields as an excuse?" I hear myself ask

"We delved into your past," Palakon says "Intervieere done There were discussions Choices were made"

"We did not knoever, about Jahes," Delta says, scratching the cleft in his chin