Returning to the computer room, we got an even more accurate picture of how things were breaking down. Tom Electric, a heavy-set man with a florid face and a head full of blond curls, gave us the bad news. "George Van Housen has apparently offered a general amnesty to any gang willing to try to stop us from getting Nadia to the Howell estate. The two biggest gangs, the Ancients and the Tigers, turned him down flat, but lots of other little gangs seem to be taking a flyer on his offer. My guess is we’ll have snipers pot-shotting us anywhere we go, but it’ll only get serious near the estate." Nadia folded her arms across her chest. "There’s no reason for you to get yourselves shot up in this. Lattie and I can handle it. We’ll go to the estate and talk to Yamamoto." Raven shook off her suggestion. "No. Were we only dealing with the Yakuza, I would accept your offer. Hondisumi is a possible side player in all this, and Cortez’s apparent ties to Van Housen mean Lone Star is a wild card. Whereas the Yaks will honor a safe passage going in or out, Lone Star and its new affiliates probably won't."