Steve missed a step. After he caught himself, he answered, “Yes and yes, respectively.” He didn’t sound as if he thought Jerry was crazy anymore.

“They’re bribing us to keep our mouths shut,” Jerry said.

“They sure are. As far as I’m concerned, it’s going to work, too. They could be killing us to keep our mouths shut.” Steve said nothing more till they got to the corner across the street from the Penguin Coffee Shop. As he punched the button on the streetlight pole and waited for the Walk signal, he added, “Isn’t this a cheerful thing to talk about on the way to lunch?”

“Well, yeah,” Jerry said. The light changed. He and Steve crossed the street and walked into the restaurant. It was full; they had to wait ten minutes before they got a table. Jerry ordered two pieces of fried chicken and fries. Steve chose the cheeseburger.

“Enjoy the money,” the older man said. “That’s all—just enjoy it. It’s a nice piece of change for me, but I’m already doing all right. For you, still in grad school and about to get married, it’ll mean a lot more. What does Anna think about it?”

“I haven’t told her yet. I’m still trying to work out how. What could I have done to deserve that kind of money when I was just along for window dressing?”

“Ah. Yes, there is that. I haven’t said anything to Beth, either, to tell you the truth. The less anybody outside knows, the better.”

“You got that right!” Jerry said, and then, a moment later, “Have you heard anything about what they’re up to out there?”

“Not a word,” Steve replied. “If we’re out of the program, we’re out of the program. They may be pressing ahead as hard as they can, or they may have decided to be cautious after all. I have no idea.”

“I just hope we don’t find out the hard way.”

Before Steve could answer, the waitress came with their lunches. “Remind me who had coffee and who had Coke,” she said.

“Coke here,” Jerry said. She set the glass in front of him along with the chicken—she knew he got that. Then she gave Steve his food and went off to deal with more hungry people.

After she’d disappeared, Steve said, “If you hadn’t lost your temper with Dave, we’d probably still be out there.” He took a big bite from his cheeseburger.

“I’ve thought about that. You think I haven’t?” To keep his temper now, Jerry gnawed on a drumstick. It was good fried chicken—not great, but good. After a moment, he went on, “But you know what? I bet we wouldn’t, not for long. They would have done something else stupid. If I didn’t blow my stack, you would have.”