the carpet crawlers heed their callers

"And you never think about leaving?"

"Hmph. Do you?"

Every question just bred another pointed back. Minoth knew this, knew it was the only safe way to conversation right now - get too quiet and people get suspicious, so you have to take your banter at a middling volume - and knew that leaving involved...a very significant bust.

It ate at him, though. It couldn't but. Nobody battled like Rico. Nobody was as powerful. Nobody was as quiet, as dangerously deep.

Rico was like him, except that Rico never, not never, bothered being a nice guy. And that made Minoth...soft.