Hank Raglan returns to Unalco unsure what the Rosebud fight will cost him. Benny arranges a meeting that produces a handshake, though Hank’s doubts remain. These reusable components explore the chapter’s uneasy peace and the workplace pressures that make it possible.
Chapter 9 — Overview
Chapter 9 opens Act 2 on Tuesday, January 9, 1990. Hank arrives for his first workday of the decade carefully dressed and outwardly composed, after taking a week of vacation to put distance between himself and the Rosebud fight. Inside the engineering department, he feels watched. The company has given the incident a nickname, the “Rosebud Rumble,” but neither Tony Laporte nor HR has contacted him. That silence leaves Hank guessing about consequences he cannot control.
An interoffice memo sends him to a small conference room at 8:30. He expects Benny to have useful information; instead, he finds Jack Barons waiting there too. Both men feel ambushed, trade insults and nearly restart the confrontation. Benny physically separates them and makes the practical stakes plain: another fight at work could cost them both their jobs.
Hank apologizes for punching Jack and says he started the fight. Jack agrees they need to make peace and says he drank too much. They shake hands, then briefly unite in swearing at Benny’s suggestion that they kiss and make up. The scene closes with a release of tension, while Hank privately doubts that his trouble with Jack is over. At this point in the story, the agreement lets them return to working life without settling everything that brought them into the room.
Hank Raglan and Benny in Chapter 9
Hank’s polished appearance is a small attempt to regain control. His swollen hand and anxious attention to office gossip tell a less comfortable story. He still believes his actions at Rosebud were justified, yet he worries about having struck a senior executive’s protégé and hopes his standing with Tony Laporte will protect him. His apology shows that he can accept responsibility for the punch when the alternative threatens his future; it does not erase his distrust of Jack.
Benny carries the action by arranging the meeting and refusing to let either man escape the immediate problem. He admits he knows Hank better, but challenges both of them. His method is blunt and practical: stop fighting before management intervenes. The closing joke fits his informal diplomacy, and the shared insult gives him the nearest thing to a cooperative response he is likely to get.
Jack is essential to the negotiation even though the scene stays close to Hank’s perceptions. His bruised face, untidy clothes and restless behavior undermine his attempt to look calm. He agrees to a truce because he also has something to lose. Benny explicitly names Jack’s attack on his wife; Jack’s response centers on drinking and the danger to their careers. The chapter shows agreement between the men, without showing that the harm to Danielle has been addressed.
About the Author
Matt De Reno
Matt De Reno is the author of The Midas Files, a Pittsburgh-rooted science-fiction thriller series exploring ancient power, impossible technology, hidden history, and the people caught in between. In Bingham’s Notebook, he opens the files behind the fiction—examining characters, artifacts, locations, chapter connections, and the evolving mythology of the series. Email him at
