Artemis stared at Badou for a moment, not exactly sure what to make of that last metaphor. But he assumed that it made sense in Badou's head. Which, from the looks of things, seemed to be a very, very scary place to be.

"So the nurses are trying to ween you off cigarettes?" Artemis asked, eying the patch. "I'm envious. They've cut me off completely from my own addictions."