Marcone was drawn into the supernatural world over time.

He saw some of it in the military and then goes home to the Chicago Mob. After rising to power, he begins to encounter Dresden. I'm sure he was skeptical at first, but Dresden keeps saying that he's a wizard, weird shit keeps happening and being strung up for a werewolf to kill, kinda puts it into his face.

He's got to get some kind of protection at least and better still, his own magical employees he can trust but Dresden is not willing to become an ally and he'd be negotiating from weakness against everyone else he's encountered. And he has that injured little girl constantly in his thoughts.

So he goes after the Shroud, and that leads to his Nic and company coming to town. After that he searches around and learns about Monoc. I'm sure he does quite a bit of research and then decides to hire them. They're mercenaries and not his own people but that's had some good and bad to it and it's what he can get.

Then we get SF and what happens then. I think that's when he joined the Accords. Now he has solid contacts in the supernatural world and an ace in the hole. Even then, he doesn't overreach, just expands and strengthens his power on his home turf and fortifies his position. It's a slow build-up but he's just doing the things a confident and smart mob boss does.

If a Sword could make Harry drop it when he was about to misuse it on Leah(hardy a pillar of virtue and goodness but not outright evil) and one could burn Susan when she was a half-vamp then the flare from Mavra picking one up should be like staring at a nuclear bomb with nightvision goggles on and I doubt Mavra would survive it.

Angels only fall by their choice, an act of rebellion against the WG. That's why Uriel giving his grace to Michael in SG was such a big deal. Just taking the risk that Michael could misuse the power was enough to invoke choice. The angels in the Swords haven't to date taken those chances. Case in point, while it would have been a net good if Murphy had cut off Nic's head on Michael's lawn, the Sword would/could not allow itself to be used wrongly and was broken as a result.

I hadn't considered it that way.  I can see what you mean.  Still why would Mab jump to the conclusion that Marcone was in possession of a Coin from that conversation?

Mab knows all about the events of SF, it's what got her so angry at Nic. She may not have guessed that Marcone had accepted a Coin because he's played it slow and quiet but that would be the obvious power-up available to him for becoming a magical player.

Harry might not want to help the Council, but given how much Harry wants and needs to Do the Right Thing, I can easily see him saying, "I'll do (x), but not for you. We can work together for this purpose, but we're not allies, and don't expect me to follow your orders ever again."

Harry wants to help the Council but the Council he wants to aid is the ideal Council of his dreams that enforces the Laws of Magic and is a more proactive force for good. He'll support the current Council even with all the political bs because they still do more good than harm in his eyes and he hopes to make them better.

The truly powerful do not advertise, the world suddenly notices that their opponents are no longer around.

By the way have you seen Ethnui recently? 

That is what terrified the White Council, that Harry did it and won’t tell. He really shouldn’t have been able to do this. He did though.

And as far as the White Council knows,  Harry did it with just his own talents and the help of a bad-assed normal human in Marcone.

They don't know about Bob, the Spear or Namshiel, they think Harry had the horses to solo Ethniu in her weakened state on Power and Will alone.

well considering anyone who knows a little about sanctum invocations can do what he did.... Teleport behind her and knock her out? Simple, easy, effective AND actually involving advanced magic unlike most everything that's been argued for Harry not being behind the curve when showcasing that was likely entirely intentional on Jim's part. Harry's fallen behind and multiple allusions were made to that effect especially around the time of Carlos and Marcones respective scenes.

So far in this series only Drakul and Namshiel/Marcone have shown up with that short range teleport ability. It's pretty high level stuff and Harry was prevented from learning it by the Council for his and their safety I suspect.

Still I do see one area where Harry is behind other wizards his age. He is simply not as skilled at reducing the energy costs of magic. Some of that may be just innate talent  and some may just be learning over time. His exceptional strength(and lately the mantle) might be working against him here. Plus, as Eb pointed out in their duel, he's learning that a full power punch may not always be the best strategy.

And you need to cut some slack for dramatic situations here. It would be all kinds of disappointing if the hero walked away from the climatic final fight barely needing a shower and change of clothes. Jim has to keep the books exciting.

He's so cunning that he couldn't lift that curse for 30 years and after his daughter found out about it, he was cunning enough to be overthrown by her and live for years as her pawn.

Lara is straight up smarter than her father, she's not quite as ruthless. But since she's been in charge, Casa Raith has been upgraded with military weapons, competent guards and magical defenses. She's also expanded the WC's power into mortal politics. She's done all this while also keeping her father under her thumb.

Eb is respectful of most things that are non-human. He even brought some who he'd earned a favor from to Chichen Itza. His hatred seems to be focused on the vampires because of Maggie and some other things hinted at in his talks with Harry in PT and BG. I doubt we'll ever get the full story but perhaps TM will spend more time on filling in backstory as part of Harry's healing.