After feeding the dogs, Zeitoun decides to go and see what has happened to his office. He’s determined to assess the damage, but as he approaches, he sees a gang of armed men across the street, looting. This is the first time Zeitoun has seen anything like what they’d been reporting on TV. He decides not to get too close, and when one of the men in the group sees him, he faces Zeitoun defiantly, showing he’s holding a gun. Zeitoun wonders if he can reach the office another way without the men seeing him, but finally decides he should leave, and goes to the Claiborne house.

When he talks to Kathy, he doesn’t tell her about the armed men. Friends have been calling Kathy to check on them, and realizing that Zeitoun was still in the city, asked if he could check on their property. Zeitoun is happy to have a mission and tells Kathy he’ll check on the properties. Their friends, the Burmidians, want him to check on a few building on the Tulane University campus, and, as Zeitoun knows the place, he agrees. Before setting out, he calls his brother Ahmad who again urges him to leave the city.