The plot of The Blind Assassin picks up with the man, who has temporarily found a comfortable place to live. As he waits for his lover, he thinks bitterly about the pulp-fiction stories he writes to support himself. When the woman arrives, she brings him money and some scotch, remarking that she "sometimes…feel[s] like a gun moll—doing [his] errands" (252). This sets the tone for the following scene, where we see the woman navigating seedy alleyways to meet her lover in a run-down apartment building. She admits that her desire for the man makes her feel vulnerable and nervous, so she deliberately "ration[s] him…stands him up, fibs about why she couldn't make it" (261). The man senses and resents this; as he waits for her to arrive at yet another cheap room, he wonders whether the affair is a "private game" to her (276). On this particular occasion, the woman doesn't show up, and the section endswith the man concocting new stories to sell. 

During the couple's meetings, the man continues to tell the story of the blind assassin. The assassin is "curious" about the Temple girl and approaches her,asking permission to use his

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