"A better job?" I said. "Two World Wars and a decades-long Cold War, in the last century alone? No, we spent too long holding Humanity's hand; it's well past time they grew up and took responsibility for themselves."

"And how many of the sheep will die, because the shepherd won't intervene?"

"We protect them from wolves. Everything else is up to them."

"I didn't become a field agent to see people get hurt on my watch!"

"That's how children learn. We'll still be here, to pick them up when they fall."

"Nice words," said Luther. "Pity about all the blood and suffering and death."

"You've spent too long in Hell A," I said. "You've got far too used to being in charge of people. For their own good, of course. You're a bit old to be a field agent, aren't you, Luther? Most of us get called back in once we hit forty. And you're forty-nine. I checked your file. So what are you still doing here? Could it be you see them all as sheep now, unable to cope without your benevolent authority?"

"I have a good record here," said Luther. "Done a good job, down the years. I've made good local connections, carefully maintained and nurtured, with important individuals and organisations. In LA, and in Hollywood especially, it's all who you know. Who you can get to take your call, and then do what you tell them to do. The right names, the right relationships, can open doors here that would stay shut to anyone else. Even another Drood."

"I was right," I said. "You have gone native."

"Training a replacement, and rebuilding all the connections and relationships would take years! The Matriarch knows that. She's just… looking for the right man, for me to train. Besides, I'm not ready to give up yet. Not nearly ready to go back to the Hall, and sit behind a desk, pushing paper around. I've got years left in me yet! I've given my life to this job, to this town!"

"Doesn't mean you own the job, or the town," I said. "They sur vived before you, and they'll do just fine after you've gone. We go out into the world to serve the family, and Humanity, and when we stop forgetting that, it's time to go home."