What a lovely day. It smelled like freedom. Garrett smiled at various passersby, tingling a little with the secret knowledge that he was their monster, their terrorist agendas, walking right out in their midst, tipping his hat to ladies and smiling at children. It was a lovely hat. It hadn't been worn in so long. He had dug it out of his closet, remembering the last time he wore it when he visited with Iris after another neural event. It was now the hat of choice for such occasions. Fortunately for his ego, but unfortunately for his wardrobe, the suit that matched it had become large, now that he was in better shape.

No wandering and walking. Brooding was a face of the past. No, Sir. These days were days of purpose, for men of action. Garrett had worn the jacket over a wifebeater, jeans and grey shoes in tow. So, maybe he looked a little like a scary pimp. That was OK, because he wasn't a pimp. Anyone who might call him one could be construed as a fan. That was the way to look at things. Freedom and sanity did strange things to our hero, being new experiences.

The lovely chime pinged off as the revolving door rolled the man in. his head swiveled on its axis, looking at the place that had always been a backdrop for cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs time. Now that it was not that time of day, coffee seemed the thing to do. It was a bookstore, there was coffee. Or wait! Maybe a nice Italian soda. Yes, something cool and refreshing. There was one problem, though. No one was minding the store. Fortunately there was a nice big shiny bell to solve that problem.

Ring. Ring ring ring.

Aurum looked up from the newspaper as he heard the bell in the shop all the way from the break room. On the paper, the headline detailed mass car wrecks. It was an older paper, from earlier that week. Aurum folded over the paper with a sigh.

That was some thing... He thought to himself, eyes drifting over the headline. He'd been lucky he wasn't one of the many who'd gotten hit. Him, and the guy standing next to him. That had been weird... but anyways.

Another day on the job, another customer. The lawyer slipped through the little gate to slide up behind the counter. He greeted Garrett with a smile.

"Sorry about that. I was on break. Should have been someone here... what can I get you?"

It looked like the same guy was still working for Maya. That was good, especially with the economy. " Hey Aurum, good to see you. Can I get a half raspberry, half blackberry Italian soda? Plenty of ice, big cup. I don't know what you call them here." He put a five dollar bill on the counter and another in the tip jar. He pulled the Post over and began to leisurely thumb through it. Lots of aftermath articles, especially in public commentary sections. The conspiracy nuts were doing the misinforming for him. They were good like that.

" I don't know if you remember me. I'm Garrett Wills.I work over at the Iris Clinic with Sebastian. The place is looking good here, how's business? It's been pretty slow at the Clinic." That would probably do for initial small talk. His eyes turned back to the paper before him. He could smell the torani syrup. Nothing like fruity refreshment on a summer day.

"Anyone home?" A big box with two little sticks supporting it bumbled through the back door. "New promotional materials came in. I think this one is a mystery." Of course the word mystery came out with all due mystique.

A couple steps into the store, the heavy metal back door swung shut of its own accord and the box dropped in front of a yellow skirted Maya. "Hi, Garrett. You don't often come round these parts." Sure they hadn't seen each other every day at the clinic, but they were neighbors and long time friends. There wasn't anything too spectacular about the man showing up for an italian soda if that was what he pleased.

"Let me grab a knife and I fully expect a sip unless you paid for that." She looked at Aurum. "Did he pay for that?" Because he didn't have to. Maya slipped past the curtain into her office for a box cutter and soon was back and ready for box dissection.

"It's like Christmas." Easily excitable? Yes. But that also meant she was easy to keep happy.

>>"Hey Aurum, good to see you. Can I get a half raspberry, half blackberry Italian soda? Plenty of ice, big cup. I don't know what you call them here."

Aurum nodded. "Sure thing." The register dinged as he completed the transaction, and counted out the change for the man. Then, Aurum turned and got to work making the Italian soda. His back was turned to the man as he continued talking.

Garrett Willis. Hmm. He didn't quite remember the name. It wasn't anything personal. He'd simply been busy with his apprenticeship at the law firm, and balancing college with work. "Sure," Aurum told a little white lie. "I remember." A pause, to put the lid on the cup, then Aurum turned back to Garrett. "Things are good here. We got some new releases just the other day. Here's your Italian soda," he smiled, setting the plastic cup down on the counter in front of the man.

As he gave the man his fruity drink, a Ghost appeared.

She greeted him, and asked Aurum a strange question.

>>"Did he pay for that?"

"Why yes, he did."

His eyes fell to the box the Ghost had dragged in. She thought it was like Christmas.

Aurum smirked. "All that's missing is the bow."

Sparkling and delicious. The man could put together a mean soda, just the way Garrett liked it. Garrett looked at the change on the counter. Ah, friendly conversation at the local bookstore. Garrett should have been coming over more often. the atmosphere was lovely. It was a real shame that he had allowed a bruised ego and some assorted psychotic tendencies to get in the way of such pleasant diversions. The sound of the back door interrupted the silence, a large box walking in. The melodic lilting breeze of Maya's voice ushered in the box, which soon landed on the ground. He remembered the smile of enthusiasm she wore with happy nostalgia.

"Hi, Garrett. You don't often come round these parts." He tipped his fedora in her direction. "A dire mistake I intend to correct in the future, Mrs. Csendes." As she requested a sip of his delicious soda, he slid it to the edge of the counter in her direction. The jig was up though, as he had not escaped with a free drink as she would surely expect him to. before Aurum could make an calculations, he took what remained and dropped it in the jar as well, stirring the assortment of bills and change with one of the spare stirring sticks at the counter, following it with a slight shrug. " Consider it a donation to the minds of those who come here to learn."

Maya snatched up the sliding cup and took a short sip. She made an appropriately disgusted face. "Bluh. Carbonated." She didn't dare slide it back. With her luck it would magically fly across the cafe area and land in her box of promotional materials. She walked over and handed the cup back to Garrett.

"Garrett lives at the Clinic too. He's the one who filled up all the other rooms while we were away." Among other things.

She twirled her box cutter with experienced flair. Maya knew her way around a cardboard box. Soon its tape had been severed and the top flaps puffed open with foreign air. Inside was all kinds of branded stuff. Pens, cardboard stands, table layout instructions.

Maya lived for this kind of thing. She didn't realize that she had taken a seat on the carpet and was pulling the pieces out, stopping only briefly for the instructions page. The window stickers were usually at the bottom and that was the first thing that needed to go up. Stray packing peanuts wafted out in a radius.

Aurum's eyes followed Garrett's act, not quite following all the background history. All he saw was the amount in the tip jar growing. There really wasn't anything wrong with that, now was there?

>>" Consider it a donation to the minds of those who come here to learn."

"They're thankful, I'm sure," Aurum replied with an understated smile.

>>"Garrett lives at the Clinic too. He's the one who filled up all the other rooms while we were away."

Ghost filled him in.

"I know," Aurum defending. If he didn't before, he did now. And he didn't just live there, he worked there. He must've been a doctor. Or possibly, he glanced at Garrett, then swung his attention back to Ghost. A secretary. He'd reserve judgment until he was certain.

Ghost was making a mess with packing peanuts. His hand went to a nearby broom and dustpan combination, ready to assist, once she was done.

"So, what'd we get, Ghost?" He asked.

Sipping his soda, Garrett rose from the stool he was seated at, walking in a semi circle around Maya. It was too bad that she didn't want any of it. he sort of liked her cooties. Mr. Aurum was being a pleasant piece of background, catering to her needs. It was friendly and perfect for her. When his role of room filler was mentioned, he smiled. " Not sure if anyone is paying rent yet. The Clinic, unfortunately, is akin to a tomb usually. I have been spending most of my time at the Infirmary, helping DocProf out here and there. It's nice to meet new people."

He thought Aurum was pretty new, but apparently he knew things about Garrett anyway. An agent? A psychic? It really was irrelevant. Nowadays, if people were seeking Garrett out, he just waited for them to appear. The rest generally worked itself out. There were quite a few materials in the box below him. " Looks like some kind of promotional stuff? New author, maybe?' The sound of air and sugar water slipped through the straw as Garrett had quickly emptied the glass. he kept it preferring to root around for little puddles of it between the ice.

Looking both directions to ensure discretion, he asked Maya a simple question. " Are you still Vega or Maya now? So I know what to call you?" His eyes drifted over to the international section in the meantime.

>"...New author, maybe?"

"Old author, new book." With much to do Maya pulled out a large cardboard knife complete with cardboard blood dangling from a string. "Sweet." What would Mister Antonescue say to that?

The knife she handed to Garrett who was conveniently leaning down. "Maya or Ghost. Vega was like a fad or something." It was only a passing comment. Names were silly things, easily changed and forgotten. SO unlike the clenched fist and oversized book cover that came out next.

"A Stab in the Dark by Richard Castle." She nodded at the name. For a mystery... they sure had spelled everything out on the cover. Maya twisted and poked at a dangling cardboard blood droplet before handing the rest of the oversized cardboard pieces to Garrett.

"Mystery section, please."

Underneath the smaller doodads were the static cling stickers. Those she handed to Aurum after a quick packing peanut dusting. "Looks like it's the end of the Perfect Summer." The promos streamed right into each other. A mystery killing off their current non-fiction promo. Those books were running a bit thin nowadays anyway. The publisher would be happy that they wouldn't be sending any back this time.

Aurum took the stickers, and put them where they needed to go.

"End to a perfect summer," he commented. "I haven't read that, yet."

Turning back, he brought the broom and dustpan in to the field of peanuts, scooping and ushering packing material off the ground, into the pan. "Watch your feet," Aurum said, brushing past her on his way across the shop. He finished up, dumping the peanuts into a waste basket, and set the dustpan and broom back in the supply closet, out of the way.

He caught sight of someone by the counter, waiting on service. "Oh. Be right there in a second."

The man rushed back to his duties, leaving Ghost and Garrett to their talk.

((OOC: Aurum will be busy for a bit. Feel free to skip him.))

It seemed like Garrett was being put to work. The pay was fine, considering the pleasantness of the situation. The books didn't look too exciting, but he was more of a nonfiction guy. Setting about to opening the boxes with the knife given, he watched the childlike glee of Maya as she settled into her bookstore vibe. Lifting the pieces out, he stacked them up on the counter as Aurum set about to cleaning up the peanut mess. He carefully placed each standup against an endcap , following the instructions inside on how to assemble them.

The chime sounded as he worked on the display, preferring to get it put together before carrying it off to the section as he was instructed. " How's business? I hope that unfortunate business last week didn't bring in a flood of haters. It's always sad to see mobs come here. " She hadn't mentioned the neural bomb, so maybe she hadn't connected the event to him. That was good, since he had no intention of outing himself. The sideways query seemed a better way of approaching it. He carried the displays to the mystery section partially assembled. It seemed that Aurum was conveniently busy with the customer, leaving the two of them to talk. Garrett had the feeling that it might actually go well for once. That would be a nice change.

> "How's business? I hope that unfortunate business last week didn't bring in a flood of haters. It's always sad to see mobs come here."

Maya paused briefly with her fingers running over the edge of one book fanning through the pages. "Well, this place is a natural target. People know that if they come here to pick a fight the people inside won't fight back. One of her employees was actually slapped," but nothing ever came of it beyond tears and a call to the police.

"Most of the hype has worn off. The Full Circle has been here a long time time before it switched hands and it seems like people have simply accepted the new image." That was good and bad. The shiny wearing off meant fewer people came in for the novelty. That meant every foot that stepped in the door was usually coming in with a purchase in mind. Which inevitably meant fewer feet ever triggered the entry bell.

Garrett was off to the mystery section like a good little employee. "Thanks. For worrying about me, I mean. How are things for you? Paramedic-y?" She moved right over the neural incident as if it had not ever been. About half the books, she juggled over to the mystery section after Garrett.

As he read the pictorial instructions for the standup, Garrett listened to Maya's viewpoint. Always a level head. He wondered what she would seem like angry. He couldn't remember, if there ever even was an outburst. "Thanks. For worrying about me, I mean. How are things for you? Paramedic-y?" Garrett smiled without looking at her, slightly concerned with the idea of looking directly into her honeyed eyes. " The past and the future are just those things, Maya. I am mostly concerned with the present. That's how I started out and that's where I am again. You are one of my closest friends." He had assembled the cardboard displays and turned to take the load of books from her hands.

' We don't have to talk every day. It doesn't change a thing. I'm always available to you and Sebastian if you need me." He began to arrange the books, spine out, in the arrangement described in the instructional pamphlet. " As far as my studies go, I did manage to obtain an EMT license for use in New York. So, that is one thing. While I am going to continue to pursue my parameidc training, I think that's as far as I am going in the medical profession. I've switched my major at NYU to Criminal Justice."

The idea had come upon him while he was at school. Not only were the courses vital for him to become more than a glorified snitch at RUPERT, but the sublime cover of fieldwork made questions much easier to ask and subjects easier to approach.

If Maya, who hadn't seen Garrett in a few days beyond a 'hello' in passing in the hallways at the Iris Clinic, was one of Garrett's closest friends... he needed to get out more. In Garrett's defense, they did have a long and complicated past (which may or may not have included some future), but it had been a while since they had caught up.

>"I'm always available to you and Sebastian if you need me."

"That's good to know, though I likely won't be trespassing on your good graces any time too soon. I still felt bad about abandoning you at the start of the year to take care of the property." And here he was helping her set up a display and he'd even paid for his own drink. What kind of good friend was she?

"Congrats on the license! What exactly does a Criminal Justice do?" That was one major she hadn't ever really understood so who better to ask then one who was living it?

"My college career... kind of fell apart." And she was a little embarrassed about that, but it was impossible to enroll from the inside of a prison camp in Romania. Maybe it was the language barrier, but they didn't seem to get the importance of it.

Maya's studies were all but abandoned anyway. Running a store and a home was enough for her. She just hoped her mom wasn't turning in her grave because her daughter never made it through college.