�What? The pretty lady?� I asked. �No, but I�d like to.� I gave him my best �We�re all boys in this together� conspiratorial grin. �Thought maybe I�d catch up to her and � introduce myself.� I could instantly see that I�d made a terrible mistake and my heart sank. I�d been hoping to move things along with an appeal to an implied guy code, but now that he thought that I had another more pressing reason to get through the gate, he became more determined to keep me waiting. The thought of ruining a potential romance clearly appealed to him. I almost regretted my decision not to let Buster smack him. �ah, well, in that case� the Jackal-Guard paused for what he probably thought was emphasis or tension, but I already knew what was coming next. �Yer too late,� he continued, his already toothy mouth split even wider by a most unpleasant sneer, �Gate�s closed, see?� I couldn�t help glancing towards the gate which clearly wasn�t closed. I tried one last gambit; fairly sure it wouldn�t work. �look, I�ll just nip through and be out of your way. I�ll let you close up and then you can scoot off home.� Often, the trick is to implement the result you want quickly before your opponent has a chance to process what you�ve just said. With that in mind, I moved to slide past the guard, but sadly it wasn�t to be. Sometimes, I hate it when I�m right. I was pulled up short by an armoured hand/paw slapping into my chest. If not for my leather, the extended claws would surely have drawn blood.