"My knee liked your nuts just fine," he quipped, tugging out of Ray's grip. Innocence came along with the luxury of not being manhandled, he felt. "You don't have to tell me twice."

A less intrusive pat-down would have revealed that he was armed, in fact, just as he always was, but he wasn't about to rub that in Ray's face. He had to save something for next time, because he was completely convinced that there would be a next time.