Saying that Harry didn't like it was an understatement. He stared at Marcone, eyes wide, face decidedly gray around the edges, and Marcone carefully shifted his weight just in case.

"Ebe knows? He was here… came to you and… said he knows?"

"Apparently," he answered. "I take it you didn't get a call from Mr. McCoy?"

"No." The word was breathed out.

"It seems he was more interested in me then. A kind of risk assessment."

"Risk assessment?!" Harry blurted. "Hell's Bells! He came right to you and…"

"And had a look at the man who turned out to be his grandson's shield. He was always very much aware of your potential, Harry. It confirms that more than one Senior Council member knows what you could really be, not just Mr. Langtry. Right now there are simply rumors about my person in connection to you, Harry."

Dresden still looked kind of shocked.

"We knew I would happen. Your… episode was hidden from them, but you have grown since then, have become more assured. There is also the not so small matter of my person, my position, and the changes within my city."

Marcone knew he sounded almost arrogantly proud, but that's what he felt: pride. Possessive, claiming pride. He didn't want to turn Chicago into a hot spot. He wanted to keep it neutral, out of battles, out of dispute fights, senseless quarrels and territory battles. He didn't want to rise in his position or claim more than he already had. He knew he could if he wanted to; they could. If Harry put his mind to it, if he ceaselessly worked on accessing the raw powers at his command, he would be unstoppable.

But that wasn't what either of them wanted. Marcone knew what happened to those who took on more than they could control. He had seen it in the past, had witnessed great dons fall because they had lost control of a vast empire they were no longer the master of. There was always the matter of greed, of wanting more and more, like hoarding cities and collecting allies, but one day one of those allies might just try to uproot the leader. Someone might start something in a remote corner, like a tiny rebellion, a coup, and suddenly there was a war for the best pieces of a former empire.

No, John knew how to move on the political dance floor, to gather enough power to make an impact, but not too much to make himself vulnerable. As for Harry, he had no dreams of grandeur, of being more than he already was. He loved what he did, his PI work, helping people and keeping the bad under control. He was like a guardian, the protector of Chicago. Not a warden, not under anyone's command, and Marcone still bristled when he thought about the White Council's command over this man because he was still considered a warden.

"So Ebe came calling to… assess you," Harry muttered.

"Yes. I'd like to think we parted amiably," Marcone said diplomatically.

Harry snorted.

John raised his eyebrows. "I believe he knows my position regarding your safety and your well-being. That I do not appreciate wardens coming after one of their own. That I absolutely do not welcome any of the Council's… assets to take a closer look at you without my consent or an invitation issued by myself."

Dresden gaped at him. "You threatened Ebenezar McCoy?" he wheezed.

"No. We had a very civil conversation. He understands my position completely, as well as recognizes the power I have behind me as a Freeholding Lord in turn. He did call me your perfect counter-weight, Harry. I want to believe it is a form of acceptance and personal understanding."

"You… Stars and Stones, John! Do you know how powerful he is?"

Marcone smiled coldly. "Yes. I know exactly who and what he is. Actually, I have almost a full life's history of the man."

"You… Wait, what? H-how…?"

The smile was still there, the whole posture changing to that of the Baron of Chicago. "Information is a part and parcel of the business I run, Harry. It is the heart, the soul and the very coin we trade in when it comes to the Nevernever and assorted other organizations. The White Council among them. Being part of the Unseelie Accords means I want to know everything there is about opponents, allies, neutrals, and important keystones. As the only mundane mortal signatory, the information is even more important. So yes, I know who the Senior Council members are, what they are, their histories, and who they send out to do their dirty work. Faerie is quite aware what Mr. McCoy is capable of, what he is allowed to do, so in an even exchange I received that knowledge."

"You dealt in information with one of the Courts," Dresden stated in a rough whisper.

"Yes."

"In exchange for what?"

"A minor inconvenience at best. It didn't pertain to any debts, pledges, oaths or anything to do with gifting a soul."

Harry sat down abruptly and buried his head in his hands, fingers clenching against his scalp. He groaned softly.

"I also employed the talents of Monoc Securities," John went on, sounding completely at ease, almost languid, "which unearthed a few more interesting things that even Faerie is unaware of. There is nothing Donar Vadderung doesn't know or can find out as well. To not use his talents and resources would be wasteful."

"The even exchange," Harry managed roughly. "You gave his additional information to one of the Courts?"

He inclined his head with a smirk.

Another groan. "I didn't know about him for a long time," Harry finally said, voice wavering. "The man who reiterated the seven Laws over and over, who told me how important they are, that to break them would mean death… I had broken the first Law, John. It nearly got me sentenced to death!"

"I am very well aware of that particular snippet."

There was a dark fire in Marcone's eyes, an anger that was close to fury in his voice that simmered underneath the even delivery. He tried to keep the emotions out of the words, but he was failing. He would never be able to understand the actions of the White Council and it was one of the many points of contempt for him. He understood rules and laws, he ran a tight ship himself, but someone who sentenced children to death through beheading deserved a special place in Hell, in his opinion.

Harry met his eyes, read probably everything he felt in there, his own reflecting his personal hell. "They lifted the death sentence, put me on probation. He kept preaching it all at me… and then I found out that he is the only one allowed to break them all and he has done so repeatedly. Repeatedly!"

"Yes."

"And you know it all."

"Exchange of information, Harry," John repeated mildly. "My daily business."

Dark eyes met green ones. There was a vulnerability there, mixed with anger, with old pain, and with something of a glimmer that reflected the powerful soul deep within. Harry Dresden had come out of all his confrontations stronger than before; he had never bowed to power and he had never broken.

"You know he could snuff you out, let you disappear, and no one would ever bat an eye."

"Very much. He wouldn't dare, though," Marcone told him firmly, more of the ruthless, cold power in his voice now, in his stance, one he showed when dealing with members of the Accords when necessary. "I won't make the mistake to think I'm invulnerable, no. But I know even the White Council doesn't want you on the other side, giving in to the force that would tear them to pieces over my death. They pushed you, pulled at you, did things I wouldn't have tolerated if I had known at the time. You were a child, Harry. You were an innocent. Your own family was tasked to take you out if they deemed it necessary. I cannot forgive that, but I can forget about it when dealing with Mr. McCoy."

Harry swallowed. Marcone met the open gaze, not wavering. The anger was back. It curled in his stomach and he took control of it, refused to let it rule his thinking.

"Mr. McCoy mentioned he is your only family."

Dresden nodded.

"He doesn't know about your brother." Not even a question.

"Thomas?"

"Is there another brother you haven't mentioned?"

Harry grimaced. "No, he doesn't know about Thomas. I'm not sure what he would do, knowing he has a grandson who's also a White Court vampire and a Raith."

"Understandable. He doesn't have an anchor," John stated. "Am I correct?"

Harry blinked, looking a bit startled by the sudden switch. "Ebe? No, he doesn't."

"According to Bob, only the Merlin seems to have need of a shield and anchor, though he said not to ask. It is… apparently very strange."

It got him a shrug. "Never saw anyone with him. I mean, the Merlin and I don't really get along most of the time."

"Figure that."

He grimaced. "I know he'd rather see me dead than existing anywhere on any plane, but we have kind of a truce right now. And Langtry is the most powerful wizard alive. I know he wields elemental magic like it's just an easy snap of his fingers. I've seen him do some pretty wild stuff and he wasn't even out of breath."

John nodded. "In time, you will grow into that power at your disposal."

"I'm not vying to become Merlin!" Harry snapped.

"I didn't say so," he replied mildly. "I'd rather you wouldn't anyway."

"Ditto."

Marcone smiled and pulled the seated man to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist to guide him into a quick, close-mouthed kiss.

"Your work is exclusive, Mr. Dresden. To me. For me. With me."

Dresden's eyes narrowed. "I don't work for you."

"Caught that, hm?" John smiled wickedly.

It got him a glare. "With you. Always with you, John."

"That we can agree on. And please don't go storming off to Missouri."

"You think I'm going to yell at my grandfather over his visit to you."

"Frankly, yes."

Harry huffed a little, but he didn't step out of the embrace. "Maybe. I think it's time we sit down and really talk. I mean, after I found out what he is, the whole Blackstaff thing, we didn't. Well, talk. For a long time."

"Understandable."

"I'll think about it."

"You do that."

Nothing more was said about the matter, but Marcone knew Harry was chewing on what had happened.

xxXxxxxXxxxxXxxxxXxxxxXxxxxXxxxxXxxxxXxx

Maybe because he was a stubborn bastard, Harry studied his mother's pendant, even though he didn't plan to go into the Nevernever and test it. The long stick had become shorter, mainly because he had become curious. His mother had handed that necklace to the Leanansidhe for a reason; for him to have one day. She had decided that now was the time. Now that Harry had broken the boundaries of his perceived limits.

"You sure, boss?" Bob asked carefully. "This thing is valuable, sure. You could go around the world within a few hours, not eighty days. But you would be in the Nevernever."

"I know."

"Not sure that's a good idea."

"I know, Bob."

"Knowing how to access that map would give you an advantage, though."

Harry turned the ruby between his fingers, aware that this was a key to a system of pathways no one else had. He didn't have his mother's ability to predict Waypoints, but if she had saved all of that in here, all she knew… and even if the Ways shifted every few decades, it would give him a massive advantage.

He would need to know how to access the ruby.

He would have to know how to use the knowledge.

"Dresden…" Bob warned.

"It's both a weapon and a defense, Bob. Right now I have no idea how to even access it."

The skull's eye-sockets flared. "You are going to try it," he stated, not even making it a question.

"With your help."

Another flare.

"Bob…"

"It could be trap, Harry."

"Lea wouldn't risk Mab's anger."

"What if it isn't Lea?"

Harry sighed. "This isn't a conspiracy. I want to test it. How to access it."

"And I'm helping, joyjoyjoy," came the resigned mutter. "Oh well, before you blow yourself up or accidentally end up in the Nevernever… and you would… let's do this."