“You’re trying to be charming again,” she said softly, “but I do not choose to be charmed, Locke Lamora.” — Scott Lynch

“In my dreams I sign chits and file papers,” Nikoros muttered. “Then I awake to sign real chits and file real papers. I imagine my grave marker will be carved as a writing desk. ‘Here lies Nikoros Via Lupa, wifeless and heirless, but gods how he could alphabetize!’”

Are you really that arrogant, that logic is as optional as a fashion accessory for you?

“You need money that badly?”

“As a tool, certainly. Its application is simple and universally effective.”