"I have a CD to pick up..."

"Your name, sir?"

"Michael."

Melissa sighed at the man leaning insouciantly on her counter. "Last name, sir? We don't file them under first names."

"I think," the man said, running a hand lazily through military-trimmed salt-and-pepper hair, "that if you check your box, you'll find it filed under 'Michael'."

"I can check, sir," Melissa said irritably, "But we only file under last names."

Michael's friend called over his shoulder, "That IS his last name. And his first name." Melissa was trying to keep an eye on the friend - he was the kind of customer her boss had warned her about, scruffy but *rich* scruffy, all his clothes expensive but gone to shambles. The store didn't have a policy about leaving your bags at the front, but warned the employers to keep an eye on guys like *him* who came in, especially if they were carrying open backpacks, like he was. Store had been robbed crosseyed more than once, she'd heard.

Still, she was having trouble focussing on him, especially with the presence of the military man in front of her, blocking her view. "Right," she said, and sighed again. "I'll look."

She gave up on watching the potential thief and ducked behind the counter, searching through boxes. "Michael," she said, and plucked the CD out - Britten's War Requiem. "No card, though - sir, when you order with us, you must leave your phone number so we can contact you..."

"I'm hard to get ahold of," the man said. "How much will that be?"

Melissa shrugged and rang it up. "Twenty-four fifty."

A handful of coins and bills hit the glass counter with a sound that reminded Melissa faintly of gunfire.

"Come on, Janus," Michael said to his friend, who emerged from one of the blind spots behind the shelves. "Let's go."

Janus gave Melissa a wave as he headed out. She started to turn back to her purchase order forms when Michael stopped at the door - in the path of the electric buzzer, which shrilled irritatingly from the back room - and turned back to her.

"Oh," he said. "When you find out about your boyfriend, remember your strength and take care of things yourself."

He headed out, leaving her to stare after him in confusion.

"Why do *I* always get the weird ones?" she muttered to herself, and went back to receiving CDs.