"Yeah." [His smile went crooked, and he wiped the cupcake crumbs off his face.] "And it's not like it's easy to walk away from. It's stupid. It follows you. Sometimes it jumps out of the trees." Hey look, a joke. Which... Gruffs. D'uh, Daniel. Talk about your fairy tales come to life.

Marcone. [Daniel frowns, considers that.] "A player? Like... one of those goat-things taking a walk off the pier with steel-boots on, or...?" Or does he make a difference. Which, okay, his parents would probably freak if they knew how intriguing that was. There's something in Mr. Dresden's voice, though... "I always thought you were the real player in town. You guys work together on it?"