"Hold on--" he starts to raise his hand in protest, as when she puts it that way it sounds less well considered than it actually is. But then he changes tacks (never say Charlie Cutter doesn't learn from past mistakes) and smooths the line of his shoulder. He takes a quick sip from his lager, takes the moment to rearrange what he means to say, and then tries a second attempt.

"I've got a plan and it doesn't involve putting ordinance in the man's hand. More like the reverse of that, really."