"Congratulations," he replies, his voice dry; he can hear the overtones of the few syllables echoed back at him due to being on speakerphone. In a way he's almost relieved. Whatever else Justin Baruch was, within the community it was known that he could generally be relied upon to at least embody the 'consensual' of the usual three principles. Given Henry's history and his seemingly unplumbed depths for bad decisions, that was a huge improvement.

"Did you go looking for trouble, or did you obligingly giftwrap yourself and wait on its doorstep for it to trip over you?" His words are deliberate, meant for more than just one pair of ears.