Skulduggery hadn't known Bianca himself very well. He'd been aware of how important she was to Gene; it was one of those small pieces of information brought to light in the aftermath of the bombings, one of the clues Skulduggery followed to find Bakura's murderer. So when he'd heard she was among the influx to arrive in the wake of the Woodsmen's festival, he'd known a conversation with Gene would, eventually, be necessary.

He found Gene at the newly dubbed Sky Sector, taking care of the last of the construction. Skulduggery waited until he had a free moment, hovering just on the edge of Gene's attention, unobtrusive but unmistakeable in his exquisitely tailored suit and very fine hat sitting on top of his gleaming skull. When he had Gene's attention, he nodded over at the Foreigner housing. "How much of that did you build on your own?"