Just about then I noticed two Salarymen come up the stairs, trays in hands, arrive at the landing, grab ashtrays from the service table, and survey the same scenario I surveyed with one addition: me. But if they saw anything unusual, aside from me standing around looking impatient, it was Buddha's own mystery. They glanced at each other in unsung concurrence and turned to head back down the stairs.
In my head I screamed after them, Geezus guys, c'mon! We gotta band together. Can't you see what's going on here??? This is an invasion! But my muted cry fell on deaf ears. They were gone.