The fog seemed to swell up around the two as they left the safety of the porch. Val's hand was securely around his gun, slowly becoming a common occurrence in the city of Arkham. They walked side by side slowly approaching the red glare that symbolized the group's constant onlooker. 

"Hey pal, what are you looking at? Got something to say?" Val let off in his angry Chicago inflection. However this man was none to impressed by his bravado and continued smoking. Val looked back at Ferd, almost saying "your turn" with his body language. For Val people generally responded to these aggressive tactics, so maybe it was just some Yankee thing to ignore an inquiry, but hey maybe Ferd can crack this nut. If not most people do respond to quick knee capping.