[ It felt like a trap. Oh hell, anything involving him and politics was a trap. It didn't matter that people didn't think so, or rather, the import identity they often attributed to Adrian Maskin was not Mitchell Hundred. He'd made sure of that. He answered after catching himself mid-drink, giving himself a moment to dance on his heels. Figure out where to go. ]

No, I write books. I mean, they're books about politics, I suppose, but I've never actually gotten into the business. Not yet, anyway. I've been considering it.

[ Well, the ever-reclusive Adrian Maskin making a rare several appearances through the City? Hell, if that wasn't gearing for politics, he didn't know what was. ]

I'm being honest, though, by the way. It's not a speech.