At this late hour of the afternoon, the check zone between Terminal and the Lower Westside was calm and quiet, letting him breeze through easily on his resident pass. He moved angrily, making the street-sellers bypass him for more hospitable-looking marks. He crossed Eighth and went underground, grabbing an "A" Express toward downtown. The evening work cycle was just beginning and the rush-hour migration begun. He hopped out at East Fourteenth and hiked the rest of the way.