The Chaos Kind (John Rain, #11, Livia Lone, #5)

by Barry Eisler

gossiping, backbiting courtiers, and as he closed the mahogany door behind him and the heavy brass latch clacked into place, the room erupted into a dozen scheming conversations. Power was like a magnet, keeping everything rigid and straight and proper. But without the magnet, it all collapsed into disorganized scrap.

rubbing his chin, “as Nicolas Cage put it in Con Air, ‘On any other day, that might seem strange.’”