Chapter 5. Bracken assembly was not a big place. It wasn't small. There were probably 30 or 40 men working there when we arrived, but there was no second shift, at least not according to the man at the lunch counter across the way who was closing down for the day when we arrived to unburden him from some of the day's surplus coffee.

Sorry it isn't that fresh, he said with a shrug. I get a few guys on, afternoon coffee breaks,

and then that's it for the day. Mostly it's all lunch. I had said that that was fine, and that he

didn't need to worry about us. We were just waiting for a friend to get off work. Jacket said

nothing, but flashed a tight smile to keep his lip from trembling

as the fellow handed over the paper cups of stale coffee.

"'We took them back to the car and waited.'

"'This is better than I thought,' Jack said a moment later.

"'The coffee I asked?'

"'Yeah, it isn't bad.'

"'I didn't say that,' Jack corrected.

"'But it is better than I thought it would be.

"'It was probably pretty good an hour ago.'

"'He glanced back at the lunch counter as if making a mental note,

"'which was almost certainly the case.

"'I've been thinking, I began.

"'There are 36 individual quips you have left yourself open to,'

"'Jack pointed out. Any of them that don't end and shut up, Jack? I asked with a bat of my eyelashes.

No, he admitted. Then shut up, Jack, I said sweetly, in advance. Excellent, Jack nodded,

considering his coffee a little more deeply. SoSo I've been thinking,' I began again.

"'I thought we did this bit,' Jack said, surprised.

"'This bit, yes, we did,' I said.

...