[ he pauses, the silence punctuated by a sip of his drink. ]

Would you believe me if I said you were my first?

[ with the gangs at least, an impromptu test-run brought on by jason's own needling rather than fitz identifying him as a useful mark. lucky. ]

But I'm cultivating another lead, yes. [ waving a hand. ] Early days yet. [ unlikely to beat jason to the punch, so to speak. ] If they're inclined toward a particular group, I'll update you. [ his shoulders rise in a lazy shrug. ] No sense in doubling up.

[ anonymised for now, though he's open to sharing in future. ]