Percival poured himself a glass of wine, swirled it around the bowl for a long moment, then sipped. It was all a stalling tactic, allowing him to give MacCready another thoughtful study. The other man seemed calm enough, not hiding anything, but it was always hard to tell. Still, the wine was good, and he'd done Percy no harm yet.

"This one," he nodded toward Bad News, "I built. As I did this," he twisted his hand slightly to show off Diplomacy. "The pepperbox I took from a very bad person who had done a great deal of harm with it."