"So far," he says, resting his elbows on the counter with a faint sigh.

Under the brighter lights by the bar*, there are dark shadows under his eyes, and he stares at nothing for a moment before he visibly brings himself back to the situation at hand.

"Do you agree that staying here for the time being is the best course of action?" he asks, with an air of pinning down the vital points while he still can.


* Ambience is all very well, but nobody likes inaccurate cocktail-making.