Panel 1 — All in
At the upper-reserves delivery yard, a loaded handcart waits beside Abegale's accounts desk. Only the anonymous driver's boots are visible. Abegale speaks from outside the frame.
CAPTION: Upper reserves. June 21, 2230.
DRIVER: Clinic run. One mark. All in.
ABEGALE: And the empty jugs?
Panel 2 — Weightless labor
Two empty spare jugs beside the desk make the return load tangible. One tilted mouth shows a dry interior; the driver's scuffed boot is beside it. The full cart still waits.
DRIVER: Empties come back free.
ABEGALE: Do you?
Panel 3 — Both directions
On the delivery docket, paired arrows mark outward full jugs and returning empty ones. Two plain payment tokens lie beside it. Neither journey is a hidden afterthought.
ABEGALE: Put the return labor on this docket.
DRIVER: Won't look cheap.
ABEGALE: It will look payable.
Panel 4 — Before
The driver begins the clinic run with the full cart. The docket is clipped to its handle. Empty spare jugs remain beside the desk; this is departure, not a completed return.
DRIVER: I'll fetch them after my shift.
ABEGALE: Before. That's the point.