Not a very good liar, even nonverbally, isn't he?

Now is the time for his verbal lying to back up this argument. Potemkin jumps a little - a strange reaction, if he really was tranquil - and faces the roommate who had been there lying in bed. He must have completely passed him by. Potemkin feels foolish but he has to speak up soon before things get awkward.

"Yes!" he says, reverberating with recovering shock. "I mean, no, I would not describe it as a "crapper" mission. But I am alright, thank you."