So it was back to Buddy's. Since I'd got off the phone with Scott Keith, Esquire, a nasty idea had been buzzing around in the back of my brain. Actually, several ideas, all of them more or less unpleasant. The thought process went something like this. Incorruptible Mariane Corbeau, Veep Enforcement at Lone Star, had done something dumb with her car, and ended up scragged pretty bad. Soon after she came back to full duty, she was busy forcing Keith and DED off an investigation into Yamatetsu, Obvious conclusion: she'd been bought.