1

Despite hitting the rack around midnight, Jack found himself wide awake at 3:30 A.M. This time-zone change wasn’t working for him. His internal clock thought it was 6:30.

He killed time showering and wandering the West Hollywood streets in a fruitless search for caffeine. The Andaz’s coffee shop was closed until seven and the Starbucks down the street didn’t open till six. This was not what he’d expected in a major city. Unlike New York, Los Angeles slept.

Finally he broke down and asked the Andaz’s night man where he could get coffee. The guy pointed him across the street to the Sunset Plaza Hotel where the coffee shop stayed open twenty-four hours.

Maybe he should have stayed there.

The coffee wasn’t the greatest but it was coffee. He killed half an hour reading USA Today cover to cover and was first on line at the Starbucks when it opened its doors as the sun rose. He found things about the chain annoying—like calling their largest serving “venti” instead of just plain old “large”—but they served consistently good coffee. After a large of their “robust” coffee of the day, he felt his serum caffeine concentration reach an acceptable level.

Back at the room he pulled the Glock from under the mattress, chambered a round, and slipped it into his right front pocket.