Wearing a genial expression, Arthur took stock of the man who approached him. The nitty-gritty details did not bear in-depth consideration; the individual before him was an ordinary man. To such a citizen, the sudden appearance of crocodile, particularly one the size of Hogan, constituted not just a threat but an occurrence seemingly discordant with reality. How could such a thing be possible, one might think, to see such a great, lumbering beast of the deep plop out of a van's posterior in midday? A sense of surreal unease afflicted this fellow, and Arthur felt obliged to set his worries at ease.

“My apologies if my friend here unnerves you, sir,” he said, putting his expressiveness to work through his face and hands. “While there's no statute against reptiles here, I understand you completely. However, please let me assure you that Hogan here is not only professionally trained, but also very friendly.” He crouched down and ran a hand across his comrade's scaly back, stroking him like he might a dog. “Here, take a look. Hogan, do you want to be friends with this gentleman?”

Arthur gave a slight nod to indicate what Hogan should do, then waited for him to help out.

“And are you dangerous in any way?” This time Arthur shook his head 'no', and he dearly hoped that Hogan didn't take offense to the suggestion that he was harmless. [i]It's all part of the act,[/i] the businessman wanted to tell him.

“And are you here for the licensed, professional animal show beginning in half an hour?” Hopefully the snaggletoothed stand user would catch on. With any luck, the man -as well as the trove of nearby onlookers- would buy the act and let them go about their business. So long as the pair departed within the next thirty minutes, which would be ample time to check the park, there should be no issue.