Rorschach ambushes Moloch again, accusing him of disclosing the list of people associated with Dr. Manhattan who contracted cancer. Convinced by Moloch’s desperate denials, Rorschach continues his nocturnal prowls, while ordinary people—from the detectives who investigated Blake’s death to the newsvendor—discuss the seemingly imminent possibility of nuclear war. Laurie has been kicked out of the lab since Dr. Manhattan’s disappearance, and Dan invites her to stay with him. Rorschach goes on patrol, this time during the day without his mask (which he calls his “face”).

Meanwhile, Adrian is on the way out of his office, optimistic that the rumors of war will prove overblown, when he suddenly accosted by an armed man in the lobby who shoots, hitting his secretary. Adrian is able to subdue him, but the man takes a poison capsule and dies before Adrian can extract any information. Learning of the attack, Rorschach also receives a note from Moloch asking to meet that evening. He puts his costume back on and stops an attempted rape. Laurie moves into Dan’s apartment, but Dan is clearly frustrated when she makes no romantic gestures toward him. The newsvendor and the detectives continue to talk about the sorry state of the world, with one detective musing that “none o’ these messiahs and illuminated types really amounted to a whole hill of beans” (166).