A few days after escaping Florida, Vince Everett hides in plain sight at a crowded pub near Washington, D.C., an area close to both intelligence and military centers. Vince waits for a clandestine contact named David Paulson while nursing beers and watching the room in the mirror behind the bar. Although Vince is still recovering from recent injuries, he tries to appear calm and unremarkable.

Before David Paulson arrives, a burly bearded patron approaches Vince and challenges the Confederate flag patch on Vince’s jacket. The man accuses Vince of racism and invokes his black friend Julan’s offense at the symbol. Vince deliberately escalates the exchange with inflammatory language because he is irritated and ready for violence.

When the confrontation peaks, Vince attacks first. Vince smashes his empty glass into the bearded man’s head, drives an elbow into Julan’s chest, kicks Julan in the groin, and then headbutts the third man repeatedly until the man collapses. The fight ends within seconds, but it shocks the entire bar and leaves the three men injured while onlookers recoil and the bartender moves to throw Vince out.

As the disturbance dies down, Vince still asks for another beer, showing how little he cares about the consequences. A small, nervous man then takes Vince’s arm and identifies himself indirectly as David Paulson, the contact Vince came to meet. Outside, Paulson worries that Vince has brought police attention to him, but Vince dismisses the concern and says the violence was easy because he imagined the three men he truly wants dead; Vince confirms those targets are the people Paulson is meant to help him deal with and says that once Paulson hears what they did to Pam, he may want them dead too.