Dresden Files Reread - Fool Moon Chapter 23

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Harry figures he's basically dead, but then Marcone and Hendricks show up, in what would feel like one hell of a coincidence if their impending arrival hadn't been announced at the beginning of the previous chapter. Hendricks has a very large gun, one Marcone is pretty sure will do enough damage to overcome the accelerated healing. Parker would really rather kill Dresden and, y'know, not back down in the face of Marcone's threats. Harry can see him struggling with the violent spirit within him, but that hard-won self control wins out, and he backs off. 

Marcone describes how Harley MacFinn called him, blamed him for damaging the circle, and made threats. He gets a little closer to acknowledging that he's out of his depth, saying that his parents weren't in a position to leave him anything, much less silver. This is one of the only concrete pieces of Marcone's backstory we get, excepting his history with the Becketts. It isn't a huge surprise that Marcone's parents were poor, but it's interesting to have it confirmed. It's also interesting that when he speaks of them he says "God rest their souls". This suggests at least a modicum of fondness and respect for his family of origin, and that he's at least not deeply averse to ideas of religion. The surname "Marcone" is Italian, and it seems likely that he would like people to believe he's Catholic, but since "John Marcone" is not the name he was given at birth (confirmed in "Even Hand" in Brief Cases), it wouldn't surprise me if both these aspects of his presentation are merely part of the "movie monster but better" image he's been cultivating since attaining his current position. 

He offers Harry the contract again, and adds that, to sweeten the deal, he will arrange for CPD to take the pressure off of Murphy. Harry seriously considers this. In a rare moment of insight, he observed that Murphy is still his friend, then corrects himself, deciding instead that he is still her friend, thereby reflecting at least a vague awareness that she's the one being awful here. It's still Marcone trying to hire him though, so of course he's not actually going to do it. He tries to use magic to throw tools at everyone, but he gets is a half-hearted wiggle and a splitting headache for his trouble. This is unusual. Harry runs out of magical batteries plenty of times in the series, but he usually isn't caught quite so off guard by it. I'm guessing this is an aftereffect of the potion, or at least that showing away while under it's influence drained him in ways that he can't usually accomplish without losing consciousness. 

Parker objected strenuously to Harry's leaving with Marcone under any circumstances, and that gives Harry an idea. He asks Marcone for a pen, and when Marcone expresses understandable surprise, goes so far as to say explicitly that he'll sign. Parker, as Harry had hoped, is not having this, and goes after Hendricks with the tire iron. Hendricks starts shooting, and Harry uses the chaos as cover to run for the door. I think there's probably an interesting AU to be had in a world where Parker kept it together and Harry had to go through with signing. I've been getting back into doing fan fiction, sk I might even take a stab at writing it at some point. 

Outside, Harry is immediately confronted by Agents Denton, Benn, and Harris of the FBI. Denton tells the others that they can't let Harry get away, and they shift, revealing themselves as hexenwulfen. Harry, very sensibly, goes right back inside, and when they try to get in after him, Hendricks shoots at them through the door. So now it's a three way fight, two sides of which want to kill Harry. Our Hero does the smart thing and, grabs a wrench, and heads for the shadowy back of the room, where he hopes no one will notice him while he tries to think of a way to get out of this in one piece.