Gus gazes at the floor, masking the reason for his disinclination to go into detail as sadness rather than discretion. "A long time," he says, then lifts his head and shakes it off, as if to say enough about that.

"I suppose there's nothing for us to do but be patient," he says. "I have to believe there's a way back."

He says this for Cecil's benefit, to bring their conversational mood back up. He's not sure he wants to think about a way back. If there was one, would he take it? What would that mean for him?

In any case, it's time he steered them away from this topic. This can be explored later, if need be.

"Tell me more about the organization you mentioned," he says briskly.