Colvin attempts to supplement his diminished pension by working as the head of security for a downtown hotel. He becomes disillusioned with the post when the hotel manager refuses to let him arrest a wealthy client who had assaulted a prostitute in his hotel room, and quits the job soon thereafter. Later, he is approached with another job from The Deacon, who has learned of a large grant to the University of Maryland to look at repeat violent offenders. The study is led by Dr. David Parenti. Colvin has developed a reputation among academics as a result of his Hamsterdam experiment, and the Deacon helps him secure a job offer with Parenti as a field researcher. Parenti initially plans to focus on 18- to 21-year-olds, but Colvin convinces Parenti to look at Edward Tilghman Middle School for his target group.