Okay, okay, why don’t I just jander on down to the Lone Star HQ building, check in with a receptionist, and wait in a nice, safe office while word gets passed to the right ears—to the few people in the building who actually know about me—until someone comes to collect me? A couple of reasons. First of all, even if I’m blown with the Cutters, my usefulness in the Seattle area may not be over. I could go undercover somewhere else, on some other assignment. That wouldn’t be possible if I openly showed up at the Star HQ: lots of groups with an interest in the Star—and vice versa—keep a close eye on the pyramidal building at Second and Union. Odds are I’d be marked and made, the fact that I’ve got Star connections spreading throughout the underworld, and my next undercover assignment would be my last. Boom.