When Dragonetti awoke on the cold, stone floor of the work room, he did so with both a headache, and a deep feeling of utter failure. He had had the heavenly being, Deirdre Gallagher, in his grasp. She had been right in front of him, and she'd gotten away. And while he believed she would not hace succeeded, were they at a better manned facility or had they been better equipped for her, Dragonetti had assumed that Caoilfhionn had Deirdre under control. It had been a stupid assumption. He had been stupid to trust her. He knew that now. There wasn't anyone else to blame. And for the first time, Dragonetti was glad that Holden wasn't around as his punishment for this fuck up would have been indeed severe. And Dragonetti had thought a week spent fasting was rough...
( Every wave in the lake caused the porcelain to break )