Hell, he always woke with a start nowadays. He seemed to have only two speeds left in his old age, dead stop and wide awake.It was dark in the room, with only a faint line of light coming from the bathroom. The boy, Johnny, had gotten into the habit of leaving the bathroom light on for him, so he could find his way in the dark if he needed to get up.Johnny. A brief smile curved his lips. That's right. He remembered now. Johnny was the boy's name, and the two of them had come to Steele Street for the night, where Dylan and Hawkins and Quinn Younger kept all their cars.His smile broadened. Everything upstairs in the old noggin was working for a change. Sleep always brought an improvement in his memory, but this morning he seemed to be particularly lucid, just like in the old days, by God.Except it wasn't morning yet.The clock said two, when he looked, and when he glanced toward the window, he could see it was still dark outside, with only the street lamps to cut the gloom.Darn it. He hated it when he woke up in the middle of the night.
