"Have you been waiting long?"

Jason slides into the hard plastic booth across from you, glancing around as he does. The diner is far from Michelin star food, but there's some familiarity to be had here in the dingy tables, the cracked tile floor, the buzzing fluorescent lights overhead.

The fact that this is where you always agree to meet him matters more -- and is the point of it in the first place. He takes a moment to watch you, putting the skills he's already picking up from Bruce to good use.

You don't look bad, per say, but you don't look good, either. He drums his fingers on the table, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wants to ask.

He'd already talked to Bruce about it -- kind of. In a very round about way -- it isn't like the guy had outright said no, either. He doubts he would, and besides -- he has to get you to say yes first.

He hopes you will, because it means that you'll be safe.

And that's all Jason really wants -- to keep you safe. So he takes a breath, then offers slowly, "I have a question."