The way Akito became detached spoke of long conditioning and didn't adequately confirm Anton's suggestion that the trade involved Jintou. But that didn't matter; the rest was solid enough that Anton was confident in standing by it, and if that was the case then Anton knew enough to take action himself.

"You asked for my help," Anton said quietly. "You have given me no explicit details, and so you haven't broken your oath. So I say this: do nothing, Akito. Do nothing, because then I can step in. When your foe expects you to play by their rules, the very best thing you can do is introduce a new element and make their rules obsolete. That new element is me. You don't need to be concerned I will come to harm, and I am not bound by oaths and limitations. Do nothing, Akito, because by coming to me, you've already done it."