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“Quit lookin’ at me like a deer in the headlights,” Leo went on. “It’s a simple enough question. I’m sure you’ve given it plenty of thought over the years, at some point or another. So just tell me, man. How do you feel about your current place in the world?”

All eyes fell upon Graves again, who apparently needed a few more moments to find his answer. “...I am feeling just fine about it. But thank you for your concern.”

“Oh. Yeah? That’s great, dude. Happy to hear that. So you’ve got yourself a nice little support system in the Vanguard, then?”

“Support system? Yes, I suppose I do.”

“Good, good. Glad to hear it. I’m tellin’ ya, man. Social isolation: it’s a silent killer. Even if it doesn’t threaten your life directly, it’ll mess with your head until you start thinkin’ crazy stuff, daddy-o. Real family unfriendly stuff, know what I’m sayin’?”

“...From the passion in your words, I’m guessing that you have been struggling with such difficult thoughts yourself. Perhaps until quite recently?”

“Yeah. Well. No. But also yeah. It’s been a complicated last few years for me, man. Simple, yet complicated. Much like myself, you might say! Heh!”

“Right...”

“Long story short: my mind got messed with by a powerful psychic.”

“Ah. I see...”

“Made me feel not quite myself for a good long while. And yet, in some ways, looking back on it all now, maybe it actually made me behave more like myself than ever before. Like it brought out the worst version of myself imaginable. That make sense?”

“I do believe I understand, yes.”

“Course ya do. Knew ya would. Knowledgeable guy like you. Knowledgeable psychic guy like you.”

Oh boy. Diego couldn’t help tensing up, and he could practically feel the rest of his kin at the table tensing up right alongside him.

Melchor Blackburn was the one to speak up. “Leo...”

“No, man, relax. I’m not tryin’ to pick a fight ‘r anythin’. But I figure, maybe this fella here might know a thing ‘r two about the other fella what messed with my noggin. ‘sbeen on my to-do list, findin’ out more about who did that to me.”

“I see,” reiterated Graves. “Yes, psychics can be quite the troublemakers. I assume this person has made it difficult for you to even remember much about them?”

“Sure has. But I did manage to learn the name Ettol. That mean anything to you?”