TNT: Ch. 15

Since they had some time before they had to meet Master Lin, Gina and Eric decided to get some coffee while Vlad picked up the phone. There was one more key establishment in Wheatsfield, besides the junkyard, hospital, and Imini complex, and that was the Starbucks. There wasn't a particular need or desire for a Starbucks in the town, but for some reason the company couldn't stand the thought of a town without one. However, with it's placement at the center of town, it had quickly become a popular spot for Wheatsfield's residents, as well as farmers who were in town to sell crops. As a result, it was quite crowded when Gina and Eric ordered some coffee and sat down.
"So, Gina," said Eric, "Out of curiosity, what 'leap of faith' was Master Lin talking about?"
"I'd rather not say."
"We're going to be on this quest together one way or another, Gina. You can't keep hiding your past from me."
"I didn't ask you about your past."
"True enough. I'll go first. I was born in the suburbs of Indianapolis. I have a brother and a sister. I went to IUPUI after high school, and was fortunate to get a good job. I'm a data processor for Globocomucorp. Basically I take the raw data from the engineers and developers, turn it into charts and give it to marketing. I'm also in charge of my project team for the Riggs project - a series of graphics for the stockholder's meeting. This means I have to schedule all the-"
"That explains it!" she exclaimed, the boredom too much for her. "No wonder you got so worked up about your toaster!"
"OK, so my job's not as great as I wish it was. I always wanted to do something noble; something that mattered. I mean, I don't even get to present the data I process. I can only imagine the looks of joy on the stockholders faces when they see my charts."
"You'd probably be imagining them anyway," she replied in a tone that was supposed to be comforting but ended up patronizing.
"So, my life's boring and you don't wanna hear about it!" he said, upset, "At least I'm willing to talk about it."
"You're right. I was being cruel and I shouldn't have-"
"That's okay. You're forgiven. Just tell me about yourself. Where did you come from? What were you running away from?"
"I wasn't running away from anything. I wanted to be an actor."
He just looked at her, with one of those hard-to-pull-off-but-very-effective "You're not fooling anyone" looks. She collapsed under it.
"Ok, you got me. It's because of my father. He's a - Oh look, our drinks."
She got up and walked to the counter. Eric followed. They paid for their drinks and were about to sit down again when Gina froze. She was looking right at a man just outside the door.
"Let's take our coffee outside!" she said suddenly and with obviously fake cheerfulness, "Via the back door!"
"But it says emergency exit onl-"
"Nothing like hot coffee on a cool day, right?" she continued in the same tone, now dragging his arm. She successfully pulled him outside right as the man walked in. The fire alarm went off as the door opened.
"Excuse me sir, ma'am!" yelled the kid at the desk, "That door is for emergency use only!"
"Sorry" said Eric. He began to move towards the front door, but Gina had dissappeared while the door was open. As he left the coffee shop, he noticed the guy she'd been staring at. He was wearing olive green and silver robes, with some very familiar symbols. Eric walked out into the cold, trying to remember where he had seen them before.