It's late afternoon on a weekday, so while Joe's is open, it's one of those few down times when only one or two patrons are present. Because of that, Mike doesn't object to Etienne wandering in on his own, and noodling on his guitar up on the stage...other than not to take it personal if the boss comes in and scoots him aside in favor of some other local talent.

Which works just fine for Etienne. He's taking the day off after the carrier landing in the Pacific and flying back and forth to DC in the past few days.

A beer bottle with about the first third missing from it sits on a stool beside Etienne's chair. At the moment, an older sounding rock and roll riff issues forth from the guitar strings, the player almost idly plucking at the instrument.