Peepgass and his former girlfriend, Sirja, are at her lawyer’s office to prepare a deposition for the trial of a paternity suit. Peepgass doesn’t remember who initiated the suit but hates the tawdriness of the current situation. Both lawyers ask explicit questions about the sexual encounters between the couple, with Sirja’s lawyer trying to prove Peepgass impregnated her deliberately. Peepgass regrets ever being swept up in passion for Sirja. He thinks of sex as “God’s cosmic joke” (332).

Charlie and Wiz are at Charlie’s 39th-floor office in Croker Concourse when Marguerite, Charlie’s assistant, tells him that Colonel Popover, the proprietor of the catering firm of the same name, is waiting for him in the lobby. Charlie has still not paid the caterer his $17,000 fee for an extravaganza Charlie hosted, complete with ice swans with shelled lobsters for tails. Charlie thinks of paying the caterer, but Wiz advises him against it as Popover is one of the “patsies,” the claimants unlikely to make trouble for Charlie. Charlie and his team sneak away from Colonel Popover by taking the fire exit stairs.