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"So you'll do it?" said the senator.

Hector held up a hand. "I can't promise anything. We will be heading down there eventually, so I don't mind looking for her, but it might be a while. We have other things to take care of first."

"Ah. The aforementioned Prince David?"

"Yes."

"Is entry into Livingston all that you are looking for from me?"

Hector paused, again wondering why this was being asked. Somehow, he had the feeling that if he said yes here, the guy would refuse to provide it until his wild goose of a grandmother was chased down.

Typically, Hector would've preferred to lean on his tried-and-true tactic of leaving a question unanswered and letting the other person draw their own conclusions, but here and now, that actually seemed like a bad idea. The senator might very well conclude that Hector was out of cards to play--which he kinda was, of course, but he'd rather the man not realize that just yet, if possible.

So instead, Hector decided to change topics and ask, "...What is the nature of your relationship with the Vanguard?"

Jacobson breathed a curt laugh. "Quite the question. I sometimes find myself wondering the same."

This time, Hector did remain quiet and merely waited for an answer.

The senator seemed reluctant to provide one, however. "Why do you ask?"

Shit. Uh. "...I'm also interested in meeting with them before I leave. I'm wondering what you can tell me about them." Phew.

"Oh. Well, they are a rather reclusive bunch, most of the time. While they do, theoretically, make themselves available for meetings via liaisons and so forth, the reality--as I have discovered--is that it can be quite challenging to acquire a proper meeting with their higher-ranking officers. Which is understandable, of course. Politics can be quite the minefield, after all."

Which was a long-winded way of saying that he didn't know much, Hector surmised.

Still, that was a little surprising. Prince David had recommended this guy. And if Hector was operating under the presumption that the prince had been "influenced" by some Vanguardian psychic, then shouldn't this senator dude have been able to tell him more?

Ugh. This guy hadn't had his mind messed with, too, had he?

What a pain in the ass.

Hector wasn't quite ready to give up, though. "If I do go and meet them, who would you recommend I talk to?"