The woman on the phone was one second away from screaming. Mickey recognized the tone well enough he could reliably count down to the explosion.
"Hello? Are you even listening to me?"
Mickey knew he should say something to the distraught customer who hadn't figured out her printer wasn't plugged in, but he was having trouble getting a word in edgewise. "Have you tried turning off your computer and turning it back on again?"
His front door creaked, he looked up, and forgot the phone conversation completely. The telephone hung limp in Mickey's hand as he stared at the vision in his doorway.
"Are you Mickey? Mickey Shive? I'm here on behalf of the king." The woman crossed her arms and pursed her lips as she looked him over.
He'd spent decades researching the Dal family, hoping that someb
