"It should be wearing off any minute now," Dog said, squatting down beside the woman, tail wagging with anticipation as he stared down at her face, barely blinking.
"It'll be fine! Besides, you brute, it doesn't leave marks this way. Don't worry, there's still some time left. In fact..." He reached into his bag and pulled out a long, thin wooden case and unscrewed the ornate, carved top. From it he withdrew a rolled-up scroll, which he opened and held out for Cat to see. On it was a sort of to-do list with many different items written in black ink. Some of the words, the ones closest to the top, were fading away; those were the tasks they'd already completed.
He tapped one item, Wait for drug to wear off, that was written in bold unlike the other items. It was the task they were currently on. Next to it were a series of numbers, which were slowly counting down. "See? According to The List, we have less than one minute left." He tapped the words again and gave a firm nod.
"Everything's going according to plan."
