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He could see the confusion and curiosity on their faces. But no shock or horror.

Good. He hadn't made a mistake, then. Wouldn't have been very good if he scared them off before they could be of any help.

He did expect some questions, though. Having the same last name as one of the most dangerous lunatics in modern history tended to provoke them.

'Well, it's good to meet you, Linus. My name's Mevox. And this big fella here is my servant, Salvador Delaguna.'

No probing questions, huh? Well, it was probably just a matter of time. "Nice to meet you. All of you." He kept going down stairs.

'You wouldn't happen to be related to Max the Merciless, would ya?' said Mevox.

There it was. "Yeah," Linus said flatly. "He was my nephew."

'I see, I see,' said Mevox. 'And does that have anything to do with why you're no longer part of the Vanguard?'

"Sure does."

'Is this a sensitive subject? Would you rather not be asked about it?'

"You aren't the first to ask. Won't the be last, either. Fire away, if you're so curious."

'Sounds like you're very well-adjusted. But I don't wanna be nosy. Goes against my nature.'

Linus knew almost nothing about this Mevox, and yet somehow, he still knew that was a bold-faced lie. The snort from Salvador was a pretty affirmative clue, too.

'If I WERE to inquire further, though,' Mevox went on, 'I would probably want to know more about why you decided to work for this Vance fella. Guy like you? Can't just be about the payday, can it? Not that I'd think less of you, if it was.'

He exited the stairwell and entered a long corridor full of polished silver tiles and soft amber lighting. He stopped and turned to make sure that their guests were following.

To his eyes, the reapers were tall, gangly things--humanoid in shape but ethereally pale and far too slim. They had no mouths or noses, either, and their faces instead were full of extra eyes.