Don’t waste time on this, Shanna. Scream at him to stop, lie down, and put his hands over his neck or you’ll shoot him. When he doesn’t do that immediately, shoot him. Center of mass, as many as it takes. You have drawn the gun, which means that you have already decided to end a life; this is just the follow-through.
Well, as it stands right now Shanna’s about to brandish a gun that she probably doesn’t want to fire; try to use it as a Magic Evil Talisman; and when that doesn’t work she’ll either have buck fever and fire too early, jerk her hand at the last second and waste some ammo, or even not fire the gun at all. There’s a better than even chance that she’ll have her eyes closed for all of this, too.
…Which is not to say that my advice is necessarily good; for all I know this Shanna has FAAN-Shanna’s natural talent with tactical shooting. But I do know this: a guy who will put a knife through another person’s hand has already worked out how to just go ahead and act on one’s violent impulses. That puts him at an advantage in tomorrow’s comic.
Moe and I do know what the “average” person is feeling in this kind of situation. We also know that the average person’s feelings in this kind of situation get them killed. She believes this man is here to kill her. She believes this man has already killed a couple of other people. She is staring at incontrovertible evidence that he’s at least willing to mutilate people. Her little gun likely won’t do more than make him mad unless she hits him somewhere vital, and that’s assuming he’s not wearing armor (which lots of people in his line of work do.) He doesn’t know she’s there. This isn’t about being sporting, or fair, or honorable. It’s about getting out of the situation alive. She shouldn’t say anything, just take careful aim and shoot him in the head. Then, if he’s still twitching, shoot him again. Then check the apartment to make sure he doesn’t have an accomplice that came in the back or something. Then carefully clean her fingerprints off the gun and give it to Xan so that her name doesn’t show up in the police report. She can get it back when the police are done investigating, or just go buy a new one.
That’s what she should do if she wants to get out of this alive, uninjured, and without letting her enemies know where she is. It’s probably not what she’s going to do. She’s probably going to get herself and Xan killed. Because, as you say, the “average” person has neither the discipline nor the intestinal fortitude to survive in a situation like this against someone who obviously has copious quantities of both.
Do you think the storyline is going to end in “and then JJ killed Xan and Shanna, the end”? Or do you just think I should be pretending the obviously-not-going-to-happen is going to happen because of somethingsomethingGameofThrones?
Plot armor does have to exist, even in Game of Thrones. Just because GRRM gives you the *impression* anybody can die at any time, by killing characters you would *think* have plot armor, does not mean that there aren’t any character’s who can’t die yet cause he has plans for them.
Thrones are notoriously finicky about which butts keep them warm. Some butts are too big. Some are too small. Some are too smelly. Some are too noisy. Thrones are so finicky, in fact, that they’ve made a game of finding their next seat warmers.
So, while GRRM does give some characters plot armor, it’s usually to the ones mentioned in the series title. ;)
(I only watched GoT for a little while, before I lost HBO. Were any thrones harmed in the making of the series?)
I fail to see what political ideology has to do with it. And I was not including “plot armor” in my assessment of the situation. So far we have no reason to believe Xan has any. Shanna *might* have some depending on how the authors wish the story to play out. It’s perfectly possible that the intention is for JJ to kill her, and for that to cause a “crisis of faith” for his employer. I have certainly seen enough stories using that trope.
None of that alters the fact that the best ways for her to survive the encounter would be to either incapacitate JJ as quickly as possible, or to sneak away while he’s distracted. Other options will involve much larger risks with little for her to gain from them, including the risk that he’ll come after her again later.
Unless Shanna was lying about it when she got the gun initially, she has fired a gun before… just not at a person.
Chances are she is the sort of person who would be able to hit the guy IF she had the guts to pull the trigger… And she almost certainly would call out to him first.
I, on the other hand, am the sort of person who would pull the trigger without saying anything because I’d be too cautious to give up the element of surprise (and generally want people dead)… BUT I’d have a high chance of screwing up the shooting process anyway because… no gun experience. Probably overcompensate for perceived recoil with a relatively recoilless gun or somesuch, knowing me.
Human muscles, no matter how big, offer extremely little bullet resistance. Assuming he isn’t lucky enough to have a rib deflect the bullet, shooting him in the chest would do basically the same thing it would do to Steve Urkel: go inside of him and probably hit an organ or two.
It depends on the bullet. Lots of them are designed to cause damage via impact rather than penetration. When this works, it works better because hydrostatic shockwaves travel faster than blood loss. When it doesn’t work… well… There are several cases of which I am aware where a gunshot victim had sufficient thickness of muscle or fat to survive being shot with hollow-point or low-velocity bullets with non-life-threatening injuries.
And this discounts the fact that armour sufficient to stop her little gun would barely be noticeable under his shirt and only costs about two grand.
Actually just shoot him. Getting him to lie down on the floor might allow him to get ideas of aiming that movement towards the nice juicy hostage who is being nice enough to hold onto the knife for him right now.
He’s big enough, sure enough, and probably fast enough to charge disarm and overpower a woman who does not have the confidence or experience to handle this situation, gun or no gun. Element of surprise is Shanna’s only edge here; if she loses that she’s done for.
Well I sure was wrong about last weeks comic ending in a big tease and this weeks comics going to some random technicolor plot. The action in sepia continues non stop. You go Shanna.
Has Xan passed out from being stabbed in the hand? He has a really low pain threshold.
Perhaps he’s faking it to gain the element of surprise? More likely he’s faking it to not get stabbed again.
Low pain thresh hold? I never got stabbed threw the hand before but I’m sure it hurts allot, especially with all those muscle tendons, nerve endings and bones that get torn up when you twist the knife like that.
Hahaha, he’s played right into Xan’s hands! Or, should I say, HAND! Now watch as Xan takes JJ down with the deadliest weapon of all, the rare and unpredictable KNIFE HAND!
… Xan? Uh, time to strike, buddy… Just give him a couple minutes, guys, I’m sure he’s just planning his attack out.
Is that knife Berten’s or Xan’s? This question is important.
Shanna’s not going to kill Berten. (He’s still needed for the story.) She should have called the police. After all, she saw him breaking & entering, which is enough to warrant an arrest.
Depends on the position of the nearest patrol car, I guess. It’s just that – Hello! – what this guy does is demonstrably illegal. The police would be on Shanna’s side if they happened to be close by. Also, missing persons, all with a connection to HR’s company? Enough for a search warrant on the premises.
Shanna, don’t monologue or dialogue with this guy. Just empty the clip into his hulking torso. Even a novice would be hard-pressed to miss that target.
Damn, I am on the edge of my seat for this. I guess it’s a good thing I have a busy day tomorrow, keep my mind off of GA.
Why bother? Clearly he’s injured a friend of hers with a knife, and I have no doubt that Xan would back up whatever story she told when he gets conscious.
Okay, everyone else is giving tactical advice, so here’s mine.
You have a ranged weapon. Obviously, you’re a hunter. Summon your pet and have it tank in the center of the room while you run around the edge to avoid combat mechanics.
Don’t have a pet. Hmmm. Go outside and tame one. He’ll still be there when you get back. They always are.
No tameable pets? Kite him to the street and feign.
Are those Xan’s keys or JJ’s? I feel even worse for Xan if they’re JJ’s, because no doubt about it, JJ’s going to be a real jerk taking his knife back.
Damn, got into so much trouble for talking about crayons being inserted into someone’s nose cavity (ala Homer Simpson), and look at all the comments calling for Shanna to blow Robin… away!
LOL. Its a double standard but not an entirely unexpected one. Classic violent baddie after all. Though I never fully understood why the authors were so irrationally PUBLICALLY defensive of the good guys. ( I mean I’d kind of think I understood with one comment and then another would totally mystify me) I get loving your creative babies and it looks like Shanna is a favorite but the public commenting by creators on the subject surprised me. Most creators have stayed out of such things in their comment sections in the ones I peruse. Cause taking sides like that…
Though I’ve seen that most of the times the creators chime in it has to be not only negative but repetitive.
So I guess if a “good” character is bothering you come up with an intelligent sounding comment as possible on why you hope they should cease and then don’t reply to replies on it. But if they are “bad” have at ’em?
plot twist. the mustache is a mind control deice and when he is mad he gets mustache powers. so she tries shaving him but it doesn’t work so she pulls out anti mustache spray from her utility belt and flies away to her Shanna cave…
The four minutes she stayed outside didn’t go to waste. She spent them mixing Nair in with his moustache wax and hair gel. So, if he does get away, he’ll end up bald and defenseless, like Samson.
Within a few minutes he has broken into another’s home and knifed them in the hand they use to make a living. Does he have to knife them in a vital organ before he is worthy of lethal threat levels? He’s too big to wrestle and the cops would never get there on time.
It’s possible that Xan is sufficiently paranoid to have a panic button that puts up false info, or perhaps even switches to another computer? Or broadcasts info? Deadman switch? Or not, of course.
Xan’s probably got some camera somewhere, recording all this.
Shanna’s shaking hands pulls the trigger and: (Choose one of the following)
1) misses anything important and is a through shot on the shoulder. JJ clobbers shanna and drags her off.
2) hits the head, he falls to the ground and dies
a) HR suddenly teleports him back to HQ and stuffs him in a life tube
b) We suddenly realize JJ is a robot
3) shanna’s a decent shot, hits JJ in the leg and tries to interrogate him.
4) JJ sees Shanna in a reflection. Uses his super mustache powers to magically teleport in front of Shanna and knocks her unconscious in one blow. No shots fired.
5) Shanna leaves the safety on and cannot discharge the firearm. JJ walks up as she’s trying to unlock it, but grip is so tight on trigger from anxiety, she cant in time. JJ rips gun from hand, pistolwhips Shanna, drags them both to secret lair.
Wait…why does JJ need to write this stuff down? Shouldn’t HR (Hurricane’s pretty serious about initials) know who all those players are? I mean, maybe Blizzard can’t track a person via their character, but Hurricane’s into some next level shadiness.
Cause they are right there and it would take seconds. Cause out of all of The Fives associates these are the ones he has the most reason to believe Shanna might visit soon? Cause he may not have been following that side of things enough to really understand too much of it so he just see’s information/people that Shanna might be looking into and not really the bigger game side picture?
And last but far from least because he is doing Carol’s dirty work so she would want to keep their association as weak as possible as opposed to meeting or phoning with him very often or at all beyond: Mission Accepted and Mission Accomplished.
Did anyone else notice there are car keys on that pocket knife? If that’s his own knife, that’s a really sloppy way to carry your victim’s blood around with you.
Well, that’s all the proof we need that Xan’s the sharpest guy in the room.
Check your fire Shanna, there’s innocent computer equipment in there.
If you shoot him, you’ll just make him mad.
Don’t forget angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry.
If she shoots him (right), she’ll make him dead.
Don’t waste time on this, Shanna. Scream at him to stop, lie down, and put his hands over his neck or you’ll shoot him. When he doesn’t do that immediately, shoot him. Center of mass, as many as it takes. You have drawn the gun, which means that you have already decided to end a life; this is just the follow-through.
You obviously have no idea how someone who has no fucking clue what they’re doing feels in any given situation like this. So 99.99% of people about.
Well, as it stands right now Shanna’s about to brandish a gun that she probably doesn’t want to fire; try to use it as a Magic Evil Talisman; and when that doesn’t work she’ll either have buck fever and fire too early, jerk her hand at the last second and waste some ammo, or even not fire the gun at all. There’s a better than even chance that she’ll have her eyes closed for all of this, too.
…Which is not to say that my advice is necessarily good; for all I know this Shanna has FAAN-Shanna’s natural talent with tactical shooting. But I do know this: a guy who will put a knife through another person’s hand has already worked out how to just go ahead and act on one’s violent impulses. That puts him at an advantage in tomorrow’s comic.
Most of us only know what we ‘think’ we should do from action movies and video games.
Moe and I do know what the “average” person is feeling in this kind of situation. We also know that the average person’s feelings in this kind of situation get them killed. She believes this man is here to kill her. She believes this man has already killed a couple of other people. She is staring at incontrovertible evidence that he’s at least willing to mutilate people. Her little gun likely won’t do more than make him mad unless she hits him somewhere vital, and that’s assuming he’s not wearing armor (which lots of people in his line of work do.) He doesn’t know she’s there. This isn’t about being sporting, or fair, or honorable. It’s about getting out of the situation alive. She shouldn’t say anything, just take careful aim and shoot him in the head. Then, if he’s still twitching, shoot him again. Then check the apartment to make sure he doesn’t have an accomplice that came in the back or something. Then carefully clean her fingerprints off the gun and give it to Xan so that her name doesn’t show up in the police report. She can get it back when the police are done investigating, or just go buy a new one.
That’s what she should do if she wants to get out of this alive, uninjured, and without letting her enemies know where she is. It’s probably not what she’s going to do. She’s probably going to get herself and Xan killed. Because, as you say, the “average” person has neither the discipline nor the intestinal fortitude to survive in a situation like this against someone who obviously has copious quantities of both.
Really?
Political ideology aside, you seriously think the end of this storyline is going to be, “And then JJ killed Xan and Shanna, the end”?
You’ve clearly never read or watched Game of Thrones.
Because if I’d read or watched it, I’d be expecting everything I read to be like it?
No, you’d understand that plot armour doesn’t have to exist. It is an unlikely choice, but one that could be considered viable.
Do you think the storyline is going to end in “and then JJ killed Xan and Shanna, the end”? Or do you just think I should be pretending the obviously-not-going-to-happen is going to happen because of somethingsomethingGameofThrones?
Plot armor does have to exist, even in Game of Thrones. Just because GRRM gives you the *impression* anybody can die at any time, by killing characters you would *think* have plot armor, does not mean that there aren’t any character’s who can’t die yet cause he has plans for them.
Thrones are notoriously finicky about which butts keep them warm. Some butts are too big. Some are too small. Some are too smelly. Some are too noisy. Thrones are so finicky, in fact, that they’ve made a game of finding their next seat warmers.
So, while GRRM does give some characters plot armor, it’s usually to the ones mentioned in the series title. ;)
(I only watched GoT for a little while, before I lost HBO. Were any thrones harmed in the making of the series?)
I fail to see what political ideology has to do with it. And I was not including “plot armor” in my assessment of the situation. So far we have no reason to believe Xan has any. Shanna *might* have some depending on how the authors wish the story to play out. It’s perfectly possible that the intention is for JJ to kill her, and for that to cause a “crisis of faith” for his employer. I have certainly seen enough stories using that trope.
None of that alters the fact that the best ways for her to survive the encounter would be to either incapacitate JJ as quickly as possible, or to sneak away while he’s distracted. Other options will involve much larger risks with little for her to gain from them, including the risk that he’ll come after her again later.
Unless Shanna was lying about it when she got the gun initially, she has fired a gun before… just not at a person.
Chances are she is the sort of person who would be able to hit the guy IF she had the guts to pull the trigger… And she almost certainly would call out to him first.
I, on the other hand, am the sort of person who would pull the trigger without saying anything because I’d be too cautious to give up the element of surprise (and generally want people dead)… BUT I’d have a high chance of screwing up the shooting process anyway because… no gun experience. Probably overcompensate for perceived recoil with a relatively recoilless gun or somesuch, knowing me.
Center of mass on a guy that big will do nothing other than piss him off, aim for the head or the waist
Ah, yes: Big Manly Dudes have bullet-proof chests, is that what they taught you in
video gameBig Macho Dude School?Also there’s a reason police officer’s are trained to shoot at center of mass: because hitting someone elsewhere is hard without a lot of training.
Like the original Shanna?
‘Big Manly Dudes’ tend to have ‘Big Manly Muscles’
Human muscles, no matter how big, offer extremely little bullet resistance. Assuming he isn’t lucky enough to have a rib deflect the bullet, shooting him in the chest would do basically the same thing it would do to Steve Urkel: go inside of him and probably hit an organ or two.
It depends on the bullet. Lots of them are designed to cause damage via impact rather than penetration. When this works, it works better because hydrostatic shockwaves travel faster than blood loss. When it doesn’t work… well… There are several cases of which I am aware where a gunshot victim had sufficient thickness of muscle or fat to survive being shot with hollow-point or low-velocity bullets with non-life-threatening injuries.
And this discounts the fact that armour sufficient to stop her little gun would barely be noticeable under his shirt and only costs about two grand.
Actually just shoot him. Getting him to lie down on the floor might allow him to get ideas of aiming that movement towards the nice juicy hostage who is being nice enough to hold onto the knife for him right now.
Barrel end at him, Shanna. Pull the trigger until the chamber is empty.
“They can’t be bargained with, they can’t be reasoned with…”
So, what does that make JJ?
Problem solver.
Problem, we got a bunch of debt to the Chinese.
Problem, we got a bunch of nuclear weapons we got to rid of.
Problem solved!
errrr, mutually assured destruction scenarios, anyone?
That scenario is simply, MAD!!!
Downright nuclear.
It’s totally tubular, dudes! It’s da’ BOMB!
He’s big enough, sure enough, and probably fast enough to charge disarm and overpower a woman who does not have the confidence or experience to handle this situation, gun or no gun. Element of surprise is Shanna’s only edge here; if she loses that she’s done for.
No talk; shoot.
Hang on, hang on… What if there’s an innocent explanation for all this?
They are…um…rehearsing a scene for a play? What play? Oh..uh…uhhh… Reservoir Dogs the Musical?
“Put that thing back in there, or so HELP me!”
“So HELP me!” Aaaand cut!
Is that what the knife was for?
At least it would be better than Pulp Fiction: The Musical.
That Gimp Suit number… *shudder*
Well I sure was wrong about last weeks comic ending in a big tease and this weeks comics going to some random technicolor plot. The action in sepia continues non stop. You go Shanna.
Normally, we love to torture you guys like that. But this time we thought it would be better to go full steam ahead.
Has Xan passed out from being stabbed in the hand? He has a really low pain threshold.
Perhaps he’s faking it to gain the element of surprise? More likely he’s faking it to not get stabbed again.
Low pain thresh hold? I never got stabbed threw the hand before but I’m sure it hurts allot, especially with all those muscle tendons, nerve endings and bones that get torn up when you twist the knife like that.
Probably not going to help his carpal tunnel syndrome, either.
Maybe, maybe not; at least there’s more room opened up in his hand to relieve the pressure caused by inflamation.
Look at the first panel again- he was stabbed, then it was stepped on until Xan passed out.
Also- leaving your keys embedded in some dood? Not the brightest idea.
You’ve clearly never been stabbed through the hand and had the knife wernched down with a boot, smashing half of your hand against the ground.
I’ll say…He’s never going to get the sepia stains out of the carpet.
Somen men just want to go through other people’s computer files.
Hahaha, he’s played right into Xan’s hands! Or, should I say, HAND! Now watch as Xan takes JJ down with the deadliest weapon of all, the rare and unpredictable KNIFE HAND!
… Xan? Uh, time to strike, buddy… Just give him a couple minutes, guys, I’m sure he’s just planning his attack out.
For some (very strange) reason, I can’t stop myself from thinking about knifehandchucks.
Every type of weapon becomes more awesome/awful when you link two of them together with a length of chain.
True. But not even nearly as awesome/awful as when you turn this weapon into a chain. Chainhandknife, anyone?
Yeah, no one would expect Xan to use that knife to backhand JJ now…
Is that knife Berten’s or Xan’s? This question is important.
Shanna’s not going to kill Berten. (He’s still needed for the story.) She should have called the police. After all, she saw him breaking & entering, which is enough to warrant an arrest.
He’d be long gone before the cops arrived.
Exactly.
Depends on the position of the nearest patrol car, I guess. It’s just that – Hello! – what this guy does is demonstrably illegal. The police would be on Shanna’s side if they happened to be close by. Also, missing persons, all with a connection to HR’s company? Enough for a search warrant on the premises.
Are you kidding? Police are never there when you need them, and besides, they’d probably side with JJ. I’m sure he has a bunch of ex-cop buddies.
You got that right; when seconds count, the police are minutes away.
Thought it was Xan’s at first, but look at the keytag, that’s for Robin’s car
Shanna, don’t monologue or dialogue with this guy. Just empty the clip into his hulking torso. Even a novice would be hard-pressed to miss that target.
Damn, I am on the edge of my seat for this. I guess it’s a good thing I have a busy day tomorrow, keep my mind off of GA.
Just make sure that you shoot him as he is facing you!
It’s Comin Right Fer Us!!!
Why bother? Clearly he’s injured a friend of hers with a knife, and I have no doubt that Xan would back up whatever story she told when he gets conscious.
Looking at the size of the guy, I ask, “does it help any to shoot Godzilla as he’s facing you?”
whew, first panel is a WHAM panel
I guess this guy might be around for a while (Bohunk).
But I would just love for Shanna to not say anything, no attempt to negotiate, no offer to surrender…
Just shoot every bullet she has into JJ’s body, until he is dead, dead, dead. And no he doesn’t get any last words. He is wordy enough already.
That ought to exorcise some demons.
Am I the only one that’s rooting for Xan here?
Yup.
Okay, everyone else is giving tactical advice, so here’s mine.
You have a ranged weapon. Obviously, you’re a hunter. Summon your pet and have it tank in the center of the room while you run around the edge to avoid combat mechanics.
Don’t have a pet. Hmmm. Go outside and tame one. He’ll still be there when you get back. They always are.
No tameable pets? Kite him to the street and feign.
Finally, someone who knows what the hell they’re talking about when it comes to combat.
what a monster! who knifes a dudes fapping hand? srsly…
Yeah, but now there’s a hole there.
Pretty convenient, no?
WE HAVE SUCH THINGS TO SHOW YOU.
And I thought Frigg frigging a frigging chess piece would be the most bizarre image I would get here.
Uranium Star for the big bossman Phil.
Are those Xan’s keys or JJ’s? I feel even worse for Xan if they’re JJ’s, because no doubt about it, JJ’s going to be a real jerk taking his knife back.
Look at the key-fob, that’s for Robin’s car
Damn, got into so much trouble for talking about crayons being inserted into someone’s nose cavity (ala Homer Simpson), and look at all the comments calling for Shanna to blow Robin… away!
Who’s Robin?
JJ, he looks like a buff Robin Williams to me
LOL. Its a double standard but not an entirely unexpected one. Classic violent baddie after all. Though I never fully understood why the authors were so irrationally PUBLICALLY defensive of the good guys. ( I mean I’d kind of think I understood with one comment and then another would totally mystify me) I get loving your creative babies and it looks like Shanna is a favorite but the public commenting by creators on the subject surprised me. Most creators have stayed out of such things in their comment sections in the ones I peruse. Cause taking sides like that…
Though I’ve seen that most of the times the creators chime in it has to be not only negative but repetitive.
So I guess if a “good” character is bothering you come up with an intelligent sounding comment as possible on why you hope they should cease and then don’t reply to replies on it. But if they are “bad” have at ’em?
plot twist. the mustache is a mind control deice and when he is mad he gets mustache powers. so she tries shaving him but it doesn’t work so she pulls out anti mustache spray from her utility belt and flies away to her Shanna cave…
oh and my graveytar is very speculative…
The four minutes she stayed outside didn’t go to waste. She spent them mixing Nair in with his moustache wax and hair gel. So, if he does get away, he’ll end up bald and defenseless, like Samson.
Okay… this woman has lost her damn mind!
Within a few minutes he has broken into another’s home and knifed them in the hand they use to make a living. Does he have to knife them in a vital organ before he is worthy of lethal threat levels? He’s too big to wrestle and the cops would never get there on time.
It’s possible that Xan is sufficiently paranoid to have a panic button that puts up false info, or perhaps even switches to another computer? Or broadcasts info? Deadman switch? Or not, of course.
So……..
Xan’s probably got some camera somewhere, recording all this.
Shanna’s shaking hands pulls the trigger and: (Choose one of the following)
1) misses anything important and is a through shot on the shoulder. JJ clobbers shanna and drags her off.
2) hits the head, he falls to the ground and dies
a) HR suddenly teleports him back to HQ and stuffs him in a life tube
b) We suddenly realize JJ is a robot
3) shanna’s a decent shot, hits JJ in the leg and tries to interrogate him.
4) JJ sees Shanna in a reflection. Uses his super mustache powers to magically teleport in front of Shanna and knocks her unconscious in one blow. No shots fired.
5) Shanna leaves the safety on and cannot discharge the firearm. JJ walks up as she’s trying to unlock it, but grip is so tight on trigger from anxiety, she cant in time. JJ rips gun from hand, pistolwhips Shanna, drags them both to secret lair.
Well, you got one of those partially correct :)
Why does everyone think H.R. would want anybody but his own allies in any more tubes? This continued line of thought is baffling.
Wait…why does JJ need to write this stuff down? Shouldn’t HR (Hurricane’s pretty serious about initials) know who all those players are? I mean, maybe Blizzard can’t track a person via their character, but Hurricane’s into some next level shadiness.
Cause they are right there and it would take seconds. Cause out of all of The Fives associates these are the ones he has the most reason to believe Shanna might visit soon? Cause he may not have been following that side of things enough to really understand too much of it so he just see’s information/people that Shanna might be looking into and not really the bigger game side picture?
And last but far from least because he is doing Carol’s dirty work so she would want to keep their association as weak as possible as opposed to meeting or phoning with him very often or at all beyond: Mission Accepted and Mission Accomplished.
Did anyone else notice there are car keys on that pocket knife? If that’s his own knife, that’s a really sloppy way to carry your victim’s blood around with you.