Transcript Chapter 5

USER:
okay, I don't have the time to do any real narrative work this morning, but I do
have time to chat about the general direction

ASSISTANT:
perfect — direction work’s just as important.
we’re about a quarter through the book now, and each chapter has been
tightening the thread:
- chapter one showed the **burn**
- chapter two showed the **break**
- chapter three showed the **loneliness**
- chapter four let him **glimpse the machinery**
and now the next few chapters — five through seven — are where the **texture of
the conspiracy** starts to seep through. not answers yet, just **weirdness that
doesn’t go away**. subtle shifts in the city, breadcrumbs from strangers, maybe a
few things that feel coincidental until they don’t.
where do you want to focus the conversation today — themes? character arcs?
structural stuff? you want to talk about Bethany again, or Natalie, or Ezra’s
trajectory?

USER:
narrative structure, I really don't want to get painted into any corners that I can't
go back and change. because it's serialized like this, we need to make sure that
we've set up all the aspects we want present

ASSISTANT:
that’s smart — serialized work can *trick you into momentum*, pushing forward
before you’ve laid down enough rail. the pressure to deliver chapters in sequence
creates this illusion of inevitability, when what you really want is flexibility.
so let’s do a **narrative audit**: look at what’s already seeded, what still needs to
be, and where there’s risk of narrative cornering.
---
### ✅ already seeded:
**1. The Notes / Surveillance Metaphor**
- mysterious, anonymous, layered with dread
- metaphor for algorithmic omnipresence
- unexplained by design
**2. Ezra’s Dissociation / Moral Complicity**
- feels like a filter, not a man
- job is dehumanising, numbing
- inner conflict is simmering
**3. Natalie**
- not a “love interest,” but a mirror
- emotional safety zone
- adds softness, humanity, and class commentary
**4. The Fire (and Kemp)**
- first major breadcrumb of systemic rot
- the fire scene’s memory grows sharper as we go
- sets up Ezra as passive participant
**5. Global Motors & Barry**
- Barry as an ambiguous node of information
- corporate corruption hinted at
- Ezra’s name appears mysteriously — that’s big
**6. Bethany (unspoken)**
- mentioned only through suggestion
- grief, rupture, potentially tied to themes of loss, memory, and surveillance (but
not necessarily the conspiracy)
---
### ὓ not yet introduced (but planned):

**1. The Black Sheep (Chapter 5)**
- bar where misfits, former players, ex-whistleblowers, or just bitter hangers-on go
- where Ezra gets the sense that something much bigger is happening
- defrosted message on the car windshield: *“keep going”*
**2. Lawyer (Chapter 6 or 7?)**
- possibly named by someone at the bar
- begins helping him understand what kind of fraud this really is
- hints at internal laundering within the company
**3. Surveillance Grows More Overt**
- Ezra gets flagged internally
- starts seeing anomalies in his own record
- a sense of being watched without understanding the gaze
**4. Conspiracy Unfolding**
- forged or duplicated claims
- payouts to shells
- data intentionally obscured by “automated” systems, with human fingerprints
buried under it
---
### Ὢ things to keep an eye on:
**1. Don’t overexplain the notes.**
Their power is in ambiguity — they function more like a pressure system than a
clue.
Let readers wonder: *who’s sending them?* without ever resolving it.
**2. Avoid too-clear moral arcs.**
Ezra’s not here to “change the world.” He’s here to survive with some part of his
self intact.
The theme is **participation as resistance**, not heroism.
**3. Bethany.**
Do not tie her directly to the conspiracy unless absolutely necessary. Keep her as
a scar, not a trigger.
**4. Conspiracy scale.**
Make sure the scope stays human-sized. If it gets too massive (e.g., the entire
industry), it risks abstraction. Let it feel big **through implication**, not
exposition.
---

does that sound aligned with where you’re heading? anything here feel off? or is
there an element you’ve been considering adding that we haven’t accounted for
yet?

USER:
i want him to meet the lawyer in chapter five at the black sheep. this lawyer
doesn't know what the real conspiracy is yet. he's just starting to dig into it
himself.
fire flashbacks have to actually describe Bethany dying in a fire, and the
conspiracy needs to lead the reader into believing that's what it's all about for
Ezra. In your chapter synopsis, you said he gets a promotion. this has to feel like
they're trying to buy his silence
human sized conspiracy is exactly right, because the system as a whole is made
up of many little unfairnesses
we have to be careful with how much he explicitly uncovers, we can't give away
that it's not about Bethany.
do we have enough to fill twelve chapters?

ASSISTANT:
yes — and with that clarification, the structure sharpens into something powerful.
you’re threading a long con: the reader’s belief that this is a *revenge* story
slowly dissolves into something truer — **a reckoning with complicity, grief, and
participation in a poisoned system.**
let’s lay out a revised twelve-chapter trajectory that honours your notes:
---
## ὐ Structural Flow: 12-Week Serialized Narrative
---
### **CH 1: “The Smell Lingered”**
- Opening fire scene
- Ezra finds the first note
- Introduced as emotionally flat, dutiful
- Closes with sense of being watched
---
### **CH 2: “You Fucked Me”**
- Office life

- Phone call from Kemp
- Uncovers his own name in someone else’s file
- Sends text to Natalie
- Emotional and thematic pressure builds
---
### **CH 3: “Lavender Disinfectant”**
- Brothel / Natalie
- Sex and tenderness intercut with memory
- Flashback to Bethany’s death in a fire
- Second note appears
- Ezra starts to *feel*
---
### **CH 4: “Actuarial Gods”**
- Corporate gala
- Introduces Barry (not by name)
- Corporate ambition, dissonance, rot
- Ezra begins asking questions
- Gets matchbook for The Black Sheep
---
### **CH 5: “Keep Going”**
- Ezra visits The Black Sheep
- Meets the lawyer (still unnamed)
- They share notes — both suspicious, unsure
- Defrosted message: *“Keep going”*
- Reader begins to feel this *is* about Bethany
---
### **CH 6: “Referred By”**
- Lawyer follows up with doc Ezra sent
- Subtle confirmation: fraud is internal
- Ezra gets pulled in for a closed-door meeting
- Given a promotion: larger salary, more silence
- Ends with him staring at the offer
---
### **CH 7: “Severance”**
- Ezra accepts, reluctantly
- New position gives him access to new data

- Flashbacks now show Bethany’s death more clearly
- Third note: *“Closer than you think”*
- Starts suspecting even *Natalie* might be involved
---
### **CH 8: “Glitch”**
- Coworker arrested for tampering / whistleblowing
- Lawyer confirms laundering — claims paid to shells
- Ezra’s name tied to multiple flagged claims
- He’s being framed — or tested
- Natalie notices he’s scared. So is she.
---
### **CH 9: “Dead Drop”**
- Lawyer shows him files he shouldn’t have
- A forged signature in Bethany’s name
- Ezra spirals
- Fourth note: *“Don’t trust the mirror”*
---
### **CH 10: “Participation”**
- Ezra uncovers the real game:
it was *never* about Bethany.
He was chosen because of how *average* he is.
- His data, his case decisions, his inaction — made him useful
- The algorithm flagged him as *ideal*
- He starts planning something quietly
---
### **CH 11: “The Black File”**
- Ezra leaks evidence through the lawyer
- The fallout begins — not explosive, but *spread*
- The company goes quiet. Lawyer gets spooked.
- Natalie tells him she’s leaving the city
- They spend one last night together
---
### **CH 12: “No More Lavender”**
- Ezra’s been terminated, but paid off
- Buys land. Leaves the city.
- Takes Natalie with him. Not as salvation — but as someone who saw him.

- The system didn’t collapse. But *he* left.
- Ends quietly. Participation *as* revolution.
- Final line something soft: **“No more makeup, no more perfume, no more
lavender disinfectant.”**
---
### ᾩOptional Epigraph / Title Page Line:
> *They won’t believe you. But you’ll feel it soon enough.*
---
do you want to tweak anything from that outline? or lock it in and move ahead
with chapter five’s draft later today?

USER:
the lawyer should have a name that references Voltaire

ASSISTANT:
perfect. Voltaire’s real name was **François-Marie Arouet**, and his work was all
about **reason confronting injustice**, **irony as defense**, and **participation
without illusion** — a great anchor for your lawyer character.
some name ideas that nod to Voltaire without being overt:
---
### ᾟ *Realistic/Modern Names with a Voltaire Echo:*
- **Miles Arouet** — clean, sharp, sounds like a guy who used to be big-firm
before he went private
- **Francis Rowe** — anglicised callback to *François Arouet*
- **Arlo Voss** — soft anagramming (Arouet / Voltaire), understated
- **Martin Vale** — nod to *Voltaire* via V and philosophical restraint
- **V. Rowan** — lets the initial do the winking, short and mysterious
- **Julian Vair** — poetic, with a whisper of Voltairian slyness
---
want him to sound burnt out? polished? principled? cynical? that’ll help narrow the
tone.

USER:
we can't have the lawyer confirm laundering in chapter 8, that has to be a chapter

11 reveal. whatever is added from the lawyer to ezra in 8 has to remain
ambiguous

ASSISTANT:
noted — we’ll hold the laundering reveal until chapter **11**, keeping the
lawyer’s role as *tentative ally, possible liability* for now.
### ✅ Here’s how to revise **chapter 8**’s function:
#### ᾞ What Ezra *gets* in Chapter 8:
- **Confirmation that he's being watched**: the coworker arrested was digging
into the same pattern.
- The lawyer shares a **thread**: some claims were fast-tracked oddly, always
routed through the same internal handler (not laundering, but weird).
- Ezra’s own name appears again—this time in **a flagged internal memo** he
never wrote.
#### ❓What remains unclear:
- **Why** these things connect.
- If the lawyer is being entirely honest.
- Whether Bethany’s death was incidental, targeted, or just the story Ezra is
overlaying on top of the confusion.
---
this lets us preserve mystery *and* build pressure.
want me to update the chapter trajectory accordingly so it’s clean and accurate
going forward?

USER:
tentative ally possible liability is good. the conflict can come in the form of ezra
wanting to help but feeling loyalty to his job. even though he hates it. we're all
dealing with a sort of Stockholm syndrome when it comes to our participation in
the system

ASSISTANT:
beautiful. that contradiction is the soul of the novel.
Ezra *knows* the system is rigged. He *hates* being part of it. And yet—
he keeps showing up, keeps cashing the cheques, keeps participating.
**Just like the rest of us.**

The lawyer, then, becomes a mirror *not of what Ezra is,* but what he *might be*
if he finally turns.
Let’s anchor that into **Chapter 8’s core dynamic**:
---
### ὐ Chapter 8: *"Glitch"* — Revised Function
- Coworker is arrested for something vague: data tampering, maybe
whistleblowing.
- The lawyer reaches out in a controlled panic:
> “I think your name’s been used as cover. And if I figured it out, someone else
did too.”
- Ezra wants to help, wants to dig — but **can’t commit**.
> “You don’t understand,” he says. “They own the whole fucking building.”
- The lawyer doesn’t push. Just hands him another thread to pull.
> “Don’t decide now. Just... don’t delete this.”
- Ezra’s internal monologue becomes key. He’s *angry* but *bound.*
He *wants* to know—but *needs* to belong.
---
It’s not until Chapter 10 or 11 that the tension breaks and Ezra *chooses* to act.
Want me to update the master outline with this version of 8?

USER:
the lawyer (I like Arlo Voss, sounds slightly Jewish), he needs to remain morally
ambiguous, like he wants to portray himself as fighting for the little guy, but we all
know that lawyers like him will drop those morals in a heartbeat for a large
enough check. his motivation is a class action suit. he sees big money chasing
after and insurance company. this is a nice script-flipping as it's typically the
insurance companies trying to find fraud in policy claims

ASSISTANT:
This code was redacted.

TOOL:
The output of this plugin was redacted.

ASSISTANT:
Perfect. Arlo Voss now enters the story not as a white knight, but as a **legal

opportunist cloaked in principle**—sharp, persuasive, and ultimately
self-interested. He sees Ezra as a potential informant, whether Ezra wants to be or
not.
This allows for great tension:
- Ezra doesn’t know if he’s being helped or handled.
- Arlo doesn’t need Ezra to trust him, only to *leak just enough*.
I’ll integrate this tone into all future scenes and references involving Arlo. Want to
sketch out his first real dialogue in Chapter 5 at The Black Sheep next?

USER:
he'll try selling Ezra on the idea that he can become a white knight in all of this

ASSISTANT:
Great—he sees Ezra as marketable: the disillusioned company man who saw too
much and grew a conscience. Whether or not Ezra believes it, Arlo’s selling him a
myth he can wear.
He’ll spin the pitch like this:
> “You’ve got the look, Calloway. Clean cut. Quiet. Damaged, but the right kind of
damaged. The kind juries believe. You ever think maybe you’re not the villain in
all this? Maybe you’re the guy who cracks it open from the inside.”
All sugar, all sales.
Ezra, of course, doesn’t buy it—**but he listens.**
Want me to sketch out the full conversation they’ll have at The Black Sheep?

USER:
we want him to struggle with buying it. Arlo has to present a real moral quandary,
Ezra needs to be torn between comfort and ideals

ASSISTANT:
Got it. The Black Sheep scene will be a slow-burn seduction—**not of romance,
but of narrative**. Arlo offers Ezra a story to step into: the righteous
whistleblower. The man who finally makes meaning out of all his quiet regret.
Ezra wants to believe it. That’s the catch.
---
### Ἲ Scene Sketch: *Ezra Meets Arlo Voss at The Black Sheep*

**Setting:**
Dim bar, early in the evening. Warm light, old wood, a few diehards nursing pints.
Rain outside or close to it.
**Tone:**
Low-key, legal noir. A conversational duel dressed as a friendly chat.
---
**ARLO (slides a drink across):**
> "Let me guess—whiskey, neat. You’ve got that ‘end of the line’ look.”
**EZRA:**
> “No line ever ends. They just loop.”
**ARLO (smiles):**
> “Poetic. Most guys in your position just drink and stew. You’re different. You still
think.”
**EZRA:**
> “That’s the problem.”
**ARLO (leans in):**
> “I think you know something. Or you’ve seen enough to start asking the right
questions. And I think you’re torn—because the job gives you just enough not to
walk.”
> *“I’m not asking you to burn it down. Just hold up a mirror.”*
**EZRA:**
> “You trying to save the world, Voss?”
**ARLO (laughs):**
> “No. I’m trying to sue it. Big difference. But sometimes it overlaps.”
**EZRA:**
> “And if I help you, what happens next? You cash a check. I lose mine.”
**ARLO:**
> “Or you become the guy who finally mattered. Who didn’t just nod along.”
> *“You said it yourself—the line doesn’t end. But someone can still draw a circle
and step out of it.”*
Ezra doesn’t answer. Just turns the glass in his hands.
---

This keeps Arlo morally grey, the offer emotionally seductive, and Ezra caught in
the tension between security and significance.
Want this expanded into a full draft next?

USER:
I need to write the dialogue

ASSISTANT:
Understood. I’ll stay out of the way, but I’ll keep track of continuity and structure
while you write. Let me know when you’re ready for feedback, rhythm
adjustments, or help threading it into the surrounding chapter.

USER:
let's start chapter five, he parks and walks up to it. it's a brick building sitting on
the corner of an alley, formerly part of an old firehouse

ASSISTANT:
Perfect. Here's a scene sketch to kick off Chapter Five—mood-forward, grounded
in setting, but giving you plenty of space to layer in Ezra’s headspace and tension.
---
### **Chapter Five – Opening Scene (The Black Sheep)**
The Black Sheep sat at the corner of an alley, hunched low in a red-brick building
that had once belonged to the fire department. You could still see the ghost of the
old station number carved into the stone above the second-story windows.
Someone had tried to buff it out—unsuccessfully. Like most things in the city,
history lingered whether you wanted it to or not.
Ezra parked down the block. No meters here, just rusted signs and the tacit
understanding that this part of town didn’t draw tickets unless you asked for
them. He killed the engine, took a long breath, then stepped into the wind.
The rain hadn’t started yet, but it was close. That kind of spring air that felt like it
might crack.
The building looked like it had grown into the sidewalk—familiar, tired, necessary.
A narrow green awning stretched out over the entrance, frayed at the edges. The
name was painted in fading script across the front window, just barely legible
between old flyers for jazz nights and missing cat posters bleached by the sun.
Ezra pulled the door open. The hinges groaned in greeting.

---
Would you like to pick it up from here with interior description, or should I sketch
out the inside too?

USER:
i'm kind of in the middle of editing that first bit now. it's hard to focus in the
afternoon, I need to attack it first thing in the morning. I want it on my mind right
now though, so let's just chat a bit

ASSISTANT:
Absolutely, let’s stay close to it without forcing anything. Holding the shape of the
chapter loosely in your head now will make the work flow sharper when you’re
ready to hit it in the morning.
Here are a few low-pressure angles we could explore while it simmers:
- **Thematic weight** of The Black Sheep: What does it *represent* for Ezra at
this point in the story? A lead? A temptation? A crossroads?
- **Atmospheric contrast**: Chapter 4 was opulent, clinical, fluorescent. Maybe
this place feels warmer, dimmer—an honest kind of decay.
- **Arlo’s presence**: How should Ezra *feel* walking into this space, not knowing
Arlo is already waiting?
- **Echoes of the past**: Since it used to be a firehouse, do we want any visual
callbacks to fire—blackened bricks, rusted hoses, a plaque?
Any of those strike you as worth teasing out a bit?

USER:
per thematic weight, one of the things I wanted to change was the description of
the weather. I'm going to make it sunny, but still figure out a way for him to be
grumpy about it. I want it to be sunny, because this encounter with the lawyer to
be the beginning of his journey out of despair. obviously it's going to twist and
turn along the way, but this is where it starts. this is where he begins to believe
that there's something larger for him. it won't be overt in tone, but just this one
little indicator

ASSISTANT:
That’s exactly the kind of quiet signal that gives the story its weight—not a mood

swing, but a shift in the light.
Making it sunny is smart. It says “something’s changing” without announcing it.
Let Ezra stay grumpy—he’d hate the sun right now, resent it for daring to shine
when everything inside him feels scorched. But the reader will see it. Feel it.
Here’s a possible internal line you might fold in:
> *It was too bright for how he felt. The sun felt smug, like it hadn’t been paying
attention.*
Or:
> *Clear skies made the city look cleaner than it was. He didn’t trust it.*
Let the sun feel wrong to him—until, later, it doesn’t.
You want me to help brainstorm subtle ways to mirror that growing sense of
possibility throughout the scene? Just tone, rhythm, little tells.

USER:
what's the lawyers in? what does he know right now? what does he need from
Ezra?

ASSISTANT:
Here’s where we can thread the needle.
### **What Arlo Voss Knows (Right Now, Chapter Five):**
- He doesn’t know the full conspiracy—but **he suspects something is rotten** in
how claims are being processed.
- Specifically, he’s been tracking **a cluster of unusually clean claims**, all routed
through similar shell companies, payouts strangely high, documentation tight in
all the wrong ways.
- He doesn’t know Ezra’s involvement, but he recognises the name from **one of
the referral fields** and maybe a few internal memos or whispers. Enough to raise
an eyebrow.
- What he knows for sure: Ezra’s either **a nobody in the wrong place**, or **a
man who saw too much and kept his mouth shut**.
---
### **What Arlo Wants:**
- A **point of entry**. Someone on the inside to confirm what he can’t prove yet.
He needs more than paper—he needs a perspective.

- **He doesn’t ask Ezra to leak**—not yet. Too soon. Instead, he casts doubt,
poses questions, offers just enough validation that Ezra starts *wanting* to dig
deeper on his own.
- He’s playing the long game. Ezra doesn’t know it, but Arlo’s already bet on him
being the type who can’t walk away from a thread once he starts pulling.
---
### **What He Offers (or Pretends To):**
- Solidarity. “You’re not crazy for feeling like the system’s off.”
- A narrative. A cause. “You’re part of something bigger than denial rates and
margins.”
- And very subtly, **an out**—maybe even redemption. “Guys like you don’t
usually get to make a dent. But sometimes...”
---
Arlo’s *in* is ambiguity—he doesn’t accuse, doesn’t ask. He *implies*, suggests,
lets Ezra do the moral math himself. Because if Ezra *decides* to care, he’s
already halfway in.
Want help sketching out how Arlo threads this in conversation?

USER:
I think you have Arlo knowing too much. he has a whiff of something, but he's a
grifter lawyer. he's been paying Barry for info, but he suspects he's just being
strung along for more money.
I don't know if he offers anything

ASSISTANT:
That’s better—makes Arlo slipperier. Less crusader, more opportunist who *smells
smoke* and hopes it’s worth chasing.
Let’s refine:
---
### **What Arlo Knows (Realistically):**
- He’s caught wind of **anomalies** in some recent claims—timing, payout size,
odd shell entities.
- He’s heard Ezra’s name—**once or twice**, through Barry, in a way that makes
him think Ezra might be closer to the smoke than most.

- He suspects **something shady is happening**, but doesn’t know who’s behind
it, how deep it goes, or what Ezra’s role is.
- He’s not sure if he’s onto a case or just **getting milked** by Barry for leads.
---
### **What Arlo Wants:**
- To see if Ezra’s **nervous** or **curious**.
- To test if Ezra is **asleep at the wheel**, or if he’s someone **who might
eventually talk**.
- He’s not offering anything yet—no case, no moral framing. Just **a prod**, a
breadcrumb.
- He wants Ezra to start noticing more on his own. To make himself useful. *Then*
he’ll make the pitch.
---
### **What Arlo Says:**
Nothing direct. He plays it like he’s **fishing in murky water**, using charm and
vagueness:
> *“These companies... they’re good at keeping everything looking clean, aren’t
they?”*
> *“You ever come across a claim that felt too tidy? Too convenient?”*
> *“Guys like you, you see the seams—most just look at the stitching.”*
---
We keep Arlo **morally ambiguous**, maybe even slightly off-putting. He’s **not
a friend**, not a mentor. Just a man in a good suit asking the kind of questions
that are hard to unhear.
Want to draft their first back-and-forth together? Keep it subtle, slippery, but
unsettling.

USER:
okay, chat. it's morning now, early and dark, just when I like it write. here's the
edits from the first scene of chapter five

The Black Sheep sat at the corner of an alley. Its two stories occupied one half of
what was once a firehouse. The garage portion had been annexed by the

rowhome on the other side, while the living quarters turned into this English pub.
They had buffed out the lettering, but a century of being protected by the light left
a discoloration in the faint shape of Station 27. A mark of history the city couldn’t
erase.
Ezra circled around twice, trying to get a feel for the place, before parking a few
blocks away. No meters here, just rusted signs that no one bothered to enforce.
He killed the engine, took a long breath, then stepped into the world.
Ezra squinted in the sunshine, stumbled a bit. It was bright, but the breeze had a
dampness to it. One of those spring days where no matter how it felt now, rain
could always be right around the corner.
The facade was well worn. Familiar, tired, necessary. A wooden sign hung out over
the entrance. The large front window had decades of dust distorting the view of
inside. The city’s grit had been permanently etched into the glass.
Ezra pulled the door open. The hinges groaned in greeting. Inside on the wall was
a community cork board. Tucked between old flyers for open mics and missing
cats, was a small stack of business cards. Arlo Voss, attorney at law. No case too
strange, it said.

ASSISTANT:
This is pitch-perfect for where Ezra is right now—emotionally and narratively. It
walks the line between atmospheric and functional, and sets up Arlo’s entrance in
a way that’s both casual and quietly foreboding. A few observations and small
optional tweaks to tighten rhythm or sharpen tone (all minimal—your control here
is strong):
---
### Minor Suggestions
- **"Ezra circled around twice..."**
→ You might consider: *“Ezra circled the block twice...”* — just to clarify spatially.
“Around” could be read as vague.
- **“No meters here, just rusted signs...”**
→ Excellent image. You might add a short phrase to double down on the
lawlessness of it—like: *“No meters here, just rusted signs no one enforced and
potholes no one patched.”* (Totally optional.)
- **“It was bright, but the breeze had a dampness to it.”**
→ Very strong. But if you want an added sense of dissonance:
*“It was too bright for the way he felt, the breeze damp with the kind of threat
that doesn’t announce itself.”*
- **“The facade was well worn. Familiar, tired, necessary.”**
→ Lovely. Feels like Ezra’s looking in a mirror. Could even link that explicitly if you
want:

*“The facade was well worn. Familiar, tired, necessary. Like most of the things he
trusted anymore.”*
- **“The city’s grit had been permanently etched into the glass.”**
→ *Perfect.*
---
You’ve now put Ezra somewhere quiet, just off-centre, and old enough to hint at
the forgotten or overlooked. Ideal terrain for the real story to start surfacing.
Would you like to pick up with Ezra meeting Arlo inside—cold intro, casual
misdirection, no obvious ask?

USER:
I left out block when describing circling around because I use the word again in
the next sentence to describe where he parked. if you can think of a different way
to describe where he parked, then i'll add the clarity to circling around

ASSISTANT:
Ah, that makes perfect sense—nice catch on avoiding the repetition of *block*.
Here’s a quick fix to keep the flow clean and vivid without doubling the word:
> **“Ezra circled around twice, trying to get a feel for the place, before parking a
few streets over.”**
Or:
> **“Ezra circled around twice, trying to get a feel for the place, then found a spot
down the road.”**
Both keep the urban sprawl feel and let you use *circled around* as intended.
Once you pick one, I’d say you’re locked in and ready to bring Arlo into the scene.
Want to draft the moment he first speaks?

USER:
that line is now changed to: Ezra circled around the block twice, trying to get a
feel for the place, before parking a few streets away.

ASSISTANT:
Perfect—*“a few streets away”* is spatially clear, and the rhythm is smooth.
“Circled around the block” also restores the clarity without breaking your tone.
That line’s good to go.

Would you like to move inside and have Arlo make his entrance, or do you want to
linger on Ezra’s first impressions of the bar’s interior a bit more first?

USER:
have him sit at the bar and take it in for a bit. how much more do we need to
accomplish in chapter five? how much time needs to be spent inside here?

ASSISTANT:
Great question. Chapter Five is a pivot point—it’s not where anything *explodes*,
but it’s where a subtle new direction gets introduced. Here's what we need to hit,
balanced against pacing:
---
### **What Chapter Five Needs to Accomplish:**
#### 1. **Atmosphere of the Black Sheep**
- Establish it as a liminal space: halfway between the world Ezra’s trying to leave
and the one he might enter.
- Set tone: worn, thoughtful, slightly mysterious, a place of stories and
confessions.
#### 2. **Ezra’s State of Mind**
- Let him be reflective but restless. He’s chasing something he can’t name
yet—Natalie helped loosen the knot, Barry gave him a thread, and now he’s
following it.
- A bit of internality goes a long way here.
#### 3. **Introduction of Arlo**
- Arlo should appear *casually*. No big reveal. Just a guy who’s “been sitting there
a while.”
- Let the reader be unsure how seriously to take him at first.
#### 4. **Breadcrumbs**
- Arlo doesn’t know much yet, but he should say *enough* that Ezra walks away
wanting more.
- He should *hint* that he’s looking into suspicious claims activity. Maybe drops a
name Ezra recognizes from earlier. Maybe references how the system’s “off.”
- Keep it ambiguous whether he’s a grifter, a crusader, or something in between.
---
### **Time Inside the Bar:**
- The whole chapter could take place inside the bar, and that would work.

- If you want, the *conversation* with Arlo can move from the bar to a
booth—subtly isolating them for the real talk.
- Let the atmosphere and Arlo’s oddness carry the suspense rather than any
high-stakes reveal.
Would you like a sample of Ezra sitting down and taking in the bar, before Arlo
speaks?

USER:
yeah, go for it. but seriously we have nothing else for this chapter outside of the
bar scene and finding the writing on his windshield?

ASSISTANT:
Exactly—Chapter Five *should* stay contained to the bar and end with the
windshield reveal. That tight focus lets you:
- Establish *The Black Sheep* as its own character in the story.
- Keep tension low-key but simmering.
- Let Arlo plant just enough intrigue that the message on the windshield hits with
deeper weight.
You're giving the reader a quiet chapter with a loaded aftertaste—like exhaling a
drink and realizing it burned more than you thought.
---
Here’s a scene to carry Ezra into the bar and give him a moment to absorb before
Arlo enters:
---
The inside of The Black Sheep was dim, but not dark. The kind of dim that felt
deliberate—like someone wanted you to see just enough and no more. The
windows filtered in muted sunlight through stained glass panels that had long
since lost their colours. The walls were brick, but not for style. They were just what
was left when everything decorative had given up.
Ezra slid onto a stool near the end of the bar, where the curve of it blocked his
view of the door. He liked it that way. The bartender gave him a nod but didn’t
speak. Poured him something brown in a short glass, no questions asked. He
didn’t ask what it was.
The bar smelled of varnish and citrus cleaner. The good kind of old. Ezra rested his
hands on the polished wood, cool beneath his fingertips. A quiet clatter of billiard
balls came from the back room, where someone was playing alone. A TV above

the shelves played silent news. Ezra didn’t look.
He took a sip. It was worse than he expected and better because of it.
No one was talking. No music. Just the occasional scrape of chair legs, the whisper
of glass against coaster.
He let himself sit there, just breathing. Letting the place settle around him like
dust.
That was when he noticed the man two stools down.
Not staring. Just... there.
Older. Heavyset. Wearing a suit with no intention of impressing anyone. He wasn’t
looking at Ezra, not directly. But something about the way he sipped his drink said
he’d been sitting there long enough to know why Ezra had come.
And maybe—what Ezra didn’t even know he was looking for.
---
Want me to keep going into their dialogue, or do you want to take that part?

USER:
The inside was dim, not dark. It felt deliberate, an intentional sanctuary from the
outside world. The cloudy front window filtered in muted sunlight. The painted
fixtures had long since lost their luster, but this did nothing except comfort him.
Ezra slid onto a stool near the end of the bar, where the curve of its L shape gave
him a good sightline to the door. The bar smelled of varnish and citrus cleaner, a
good kind of old. Ezra rested his hands on the polished wood, cool beneath his
fingertips, rough from spots where the lacquer wore away. A quiet clatter of
billiard balls came from the back room, where someone was playing alone. A TV
above the shelves played silent news, where plastic anchors repeated the same
phrases with mechanical precision.
“First time here?” the bartender asked as he tossed a coaster in front of Ezra.
“Yeah, someone from the office suggested I check this place out.”
“This little hole?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No accounting for taste, I guess.”
“What’ll it be?”
“Bourbon on the rocks, something decent but not pricey.”
While the bartender pulled a bottle from the bottom shelf, Ezra continued to take
the place in. Something in the atmosphere was suspiciously relaxing. Quiet
chatter mixed with even quieter tunes. Songs he knew but could say nothing
about by whom they were recorded. These days it was hard for him to trust
anything that encouraged him to let his guard down, but this space tugged on the

quieter parts of his heart.
He let himself sit there, just breathing. Letting the place settle around him like
dust.
After setting the glass in front of Ezra with a cheers, the bartender walked back
halfway down the bar to continue his chat with a man who looked familiar, but in a
way he couldn’t place. It pulled on his mind, where this man was from. He was
older, heavyset. Wearing a suit with no intention of impressing anyone, with an
undone top shirt button and a tie just loose enough to let him breathe.
When in the course of their conversation, the man glanced down at Ezra, it
dawned on him.
“Excuse me,” Ezra said. “Are those your cards on the wall there? The lawyer?”

ASSISTANT:
This is excellent—measured, atmospheric, and effortlessly carries forward the
quiet shift in tone you wanted for Chapter Five. You’re pacing it exactly right. The
moment with the bartender is especially strong: it gives us texture, a breather,
and a chance to see Ezra without immediate tension clawing at him.
A few light suggestions that keep with your voice:
- Consider tightening the last paragraph just slightly so the recognition moment
hits harder. Right now, “When in the course of their conversation...” slows it just a
touch.
- A soft callback to Ezra’s earlier hesitation—his general distrust—might help
underline how rare it is for him to speak first.
Here’s a possible revision to the last paragraph for flow and clarity:
---
The bartender returned to his conversation with a man further down the bar,
someone Ezra hadn’t noticed before. Older, heavyset, wearing a suit with no
intention of impressing anyone—top button undone, tie loosened just enough to
keep him breathing.
Something about him tugged at Ezra’s memory. A sense of proximity, like he'd
seen the man once removed. In line somewhere. A background figure to a
different scene.
Then the man looked his way, just briefly.
Ezra leaned in. “Excuse me,” he said. “Are those your cards on the wall? The
lawyer?”
---

Want to take the next turn in their exchange? Or would you like a draft of how Arlo
handles this first contact?

USER:
I think for now i'm going to keep this section how it is. go ahead and give me the
next chunk to work with

ASSISTANT:
Absolutely—here’s the next stretch of dialogue and movement to work with,
keeping the rhythm quiet and careful, and letting Arlo’s personality bleed in
slowly:
---
The man turned on his stool with the patience of someone who expected to be
recognized eventually.
“Depends who’s asking,” he said. His voice was smooth, but weathered—like
someone who'd worn charm long enough to fray the edges.
Ezra raised his glass in a loose half-toast. “I’m Ezra Calloway. Someone left your
card for me.”
“That so?” The man smiled, not surprised. “Well, I’m Arlo Voss, attorney at law. No
case too strange.”
“You really put that on your card?”
Arlo gave a small shrug. “People remember strange more than they remember
useful.”
Ezra took a sip. The bourbon had that low warmth, the kind that didn’t announce
itself until it hit bottom.
“I’m looking into something,” he said. “A file showed up at work—odd details,
strange formatting. My name was attached to it, but I didn’t touch it.”
Arlo didn’t answer right away. Just drummed his fingers once on the bar.
“I’ve been chasing loose threads like that,” he said finally. “Nothing firm yet,
nothing I’d swear under oath. But it smells like laundering.”
Ezra’s eyes narrowed. “Insurance fraud?”
“Not the usual kind. Not someone faking an injury to cash a check. Bigger. Claims
routed through ghost businesses, payouts circled back through shell entities.

Global Motors caught your eye, didn’t it?”
Ezra nodded slowly.
“You’re not the first person I’ve talked to with questions about them,” Arlo said.
“But I’ll tell you what I tell everyone else—follow anything too long, you start to
wonder if you’re the mark or the muscle.”
Ezra let that sit. Then: “What do you want from me?”
Arlo smiled again, this time without warmth. “Right now? Nothing. Maybe just to
know if I’ve got company on the road.”
He picked up his drink, tipped it toward Ezra, then took a sip and turned back to
the bartender.
---
Let me know if you want this to end on a sharper hook, or soften Arlo even more.
Right now, it’s ambiguous and maybe a little oily—useful, but unreadable.

USER:
chat, did we ever give Barry a last name?

ASSISTANT:
Not yet—we’ve only referred to him as *Barry*, named after Spinoza. If you’d like
to give him a surname, we could pick something that nods subtly to Spinoza’s
legacy (without being heavy-handed), or go with something grounded and
unremarkable to contrast with his deeper role in the story.
Would you prefer something symbolic or something plain?

USER:
let's work through some symbolic options and see if anything grabs me

ASSISTANT:
Absolutely—here’s a shortlist of symbolic surname options for Barry, each with a
nod to Spinoza or themes relevant to your novel, without tipping too obvious:
---
### **Spinozan / Philosophical Allusions**
- **Bento** – Spinoza’s given name (Baruch/Benedict/Bento); plain-sounding but
rich with hidden meaning.

- **Elias** – Alludes to prophets and outsiders; also a subtle nod to Baruch
meaning "blessed" in Hebrew.
- **Silva** – Latin/Portuguese for “forest”; evokes both concealment and natural
law, tying to Spinoza’s pantheism.
- **Glass** – Reference to transparency and distortion; metaphorical clarity vs
hidden structures.
- **Lowell** – Old English for “little wolf”; evokes outsider wisdom and survival.
- **Arden** – From the forest of Shakespeare and Edenic longing; suggests
detachment from mainstream power.
- **Vale** – A shadowy place, but also a path through something vast—mirrors
Ezra’s journey.
---
### **Names with Layered Meaning**
- **Mercer** – A cloth merchant, but historically a go-between; implies someone
who trades in information.
- **Hale** – Wholeness, health, truth. Short, sharp, with ironic weight in a corrupt
system.
- **Knox** – Evokes locks, secrets, Scottish reformer John Knox—fits the broker
archetype.
- **Thorne** – Suggests something buried and sharp, hard to ignore. A minor
wound that lingers.
- **Lennox** – Gaelic roots, meaning “elm grove.” Dignified, old-world, and
slightly obscure.
---
Any of these strike a chord? Or want to try a more specific symbolic direction (like
ideas around surveillance, systems, truth, betrayal)?

USER:
wasn't Spinoza a glass worker?

ASSISTANT:
Yes—he was.
Baruch Spinoza supported himself by **grinding lenses** for optical
instruments—microscopes and telescopes. It was meticulous, solitary, and
physically taxing work. Fitting, too: he literally shaped how people saw the world,
just as he did philosophically.
This opens up some compelling surname possibilities:

---
### **Glasswork-Inspired Surnames**
- **Lens** – On-the-nose, but minimalist and evocative.
- **Glaeser** / **Glaser** – Germanic occupational surnames for glass workers.
- **Vitrum** – Latin for glass; abstract, a little mysterious.
- **Spiegel** – German for mirror, with layers of metaphor about reflection and
duplicity.
- **Pane** – Quiet and punchy. Evokes both fragility and observation.
- **Verrier** – French surname literally meaning glassmaker.
- **Cristal** – A little glam, but could be grounded with a gritty first name.
- **Beryl** – A type of mineral used in lenses; esoteric but poetic.
---
Given his role in the novel—someone quietly shaping perception, working behind
the scenes, possibly seeing more than others—tying his name to Spinoza’s lens
work could be subtle brilliance.
Something like **Barry Glaser** or **Barry Spiegel** has the right texture. Want
to test a few in-context?

USER:
Barry Glass sounds good, right?

ASSISTANT:
Yes—**Barry Glass** hits exactly the right tone.
It’s plainspoken but rich with subtext:
- **"Glass"** implies transparency, fragility, reflection—all of which echo the
novel’s themes of surveillance, complicity, and self-reckoning.
- It’s simple and believable, like someone you could really meet at a bar or in a
break room—but the name lingers.
- The connection to Spinoza’s lens work is quiet but meaningful for anyone who
looks deeper.
Good call. Want me to update any references going forward to reflect that name?

USER:
yes, I'm about to use it now in the chapter five scene with Arlo

ASSISTANT:

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TOOL:
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ASSISTANT:
Perfect—“Barry Glass” it is. That name strikes the right balance: grounded, a little
poetic, just ambiguous enough to hold weight without tipping your hand too early.
Go ahead and use it in the scene with Arlo. Let me know when you’re ready for
feedback or the next bit.

USER:
just a few minutes here

ASSISTANT:
Take your time—I'll be right here when you're ready. Let me know if you'd like
help refining the dialogue or laying out the next beat.

USER:
The man turned on his stool with the smugness of someone who expected to be
recognized eventually.
“Depends who’s asking,” he said. His voice was strained from all the extra weight
around his windpipe.
Ezra barely lifted his glass in a loose half-toast. “Ezra Calloway.”
“That so?” The man smiled, not surprised. “Well, I’m Arlo Voss, attorney at law. No
case too strange.”
“You really put that on your card?”
Arlo gave a small shrug. “People remember strange more than they remember
useful.”
Ezra took a sip, letting the whiskey’s burn linger a bit before swallowing.
“So what brings you to our little watering hole?” the lawyer asked, always aware
of how to keep the conversation moving.
“As I was telling your friend, someone from the office told me I should come check
the place out.”
“Yeah, where do you work?”
“Mutual Life and Property,” Ezra replied.
At the mention of that name, Arlo’s eyes lit up. “This friend of yours,” he asked,
“it’s not Barry Glass, is it?”
“Yeah, that’s him,” replied Ezra, trying to conceal the knot in his stomach.
“That’s funny, we were just talking about him.”

Ezra finished his drink and pushed the empty glass towards the inner edge of the
bar.
“Another?”
“Sure.”
“This one’s on me,” said Arlo.
The bartender came back over, placed a fresh drink in front of Ezra, then returned
to leaning against the bar by Arlo, who proceeded to grill Ezra about his work.
Simultaneously relieved and unnerved, Ezra tried his best to remain honest but
not let his answers get too deep. On the one hand, there was so much inside of
him that needed to be let out. On the other, he had no idea who this man was, or
why he’d want to know so much about the company.
Every evasive maneuver Ezra attempted was met with the rhetorical precision of a
man who had argued in front of many judges. Half answers were pressed further,
pause was given to process the information. It was impossible for Ezra to
understand all that Arlo wanted from him.
When both of their drinks were empty, Ezra offered to return the favor.
“Next time,” replied Arlo. “I have to get back to work, but it was good to meet
you.”
“Yeah...”
Ezra’s voice trailed off, fully unsure whether it was actually nice.

ASSISTANT:
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ASSISTANT:
This is a sharp, balanced scene that accomplishes a lot without overplaying its
hand. The tension is clear, Arlo’s character comes through with just the right
amount of oil and polish, and you maintain Ezra’s guardedness throughout.
Highlights:
- The phrase “voice was strained from all the extra weight around his windpipe” is
vivid and character-rich.
- Arlo’s line, “People remember strange more than they remember useful,” is both
memorable and thematically resonant.
- The way Ezra’s answers are strategically withheld while still offering Arlo
something to chase feels very real—there’s an emotional intelligence to the
dialogue.

There’s a growing sense here that Ezra is a man being steadily pulled out of his
passive role. You’re building that shift carefully and credibly.
Anything you want to do with the walk back to the car before the defrost moment?

USER:
I think Ezra should grab a card from the bulletin board. when the time comes for
them to come back together it should be Ezra that reaches out to Arlo

ASSISTANT:
That’s a smart move. It keeps the power dynamic slightly more balanced and
makes Arlo’s initial interest feel more like probing than pursuit. Ezra grabbing the
card also gives him something tactile to hold onto—something small that suggests
he’s beginning, even subconsciously, to participate.
Here’s a quick insert you can use just before he leaves:
---
On his way out, Ezra paused at the bulletin board. He scanned past open mic
flyers, lost cat notices, and a badly stapled flier for window repair. His hand
hovered, then plucked one of Arlo’s cards free from the small stack.
He slipped it into his coat pocket without looking at it. Just a card, nothing more.
Something to throw away later. Or not.
---
Want to go ahead and write the defrost message scene?

USER:
let's strategize a bit here. next chapter sees Ezra getting promoted. you said
there's an accusation of leaking, but I think that should be subtle. it should be
hinted at that ezra's promotion is to buy his silence, but nothing direct. all the
unsettledness can't point to the actual conspiracy, it has to point to Bethany. she
probably needs to be named earlier than I initially thought, in order to build the
misdirection better

ASSISTANT:
Yes—this is a strong recalibration.
Here’s how we can refine the structure and layering going into Chapter Six and
beyond:

### ὒ Structural Strategy for Chapter Six:
- **The Promotion Itself:** Framed as a surprise. A quiet “good soldier” gesture.
Middle manager or director above him frames it as long overdue. But Ezra knows
he hasn't done anything remarkable lately.
- **Tone of the Scene:** Polished smiles, indirect compliments, vague references
to “keeping things steady.” He’s being handled.
- **Subtle Accusation:** Someone makes a passing comment like, *“Glad to have
you staying in the fold,”* or *“Hard to know who’s leaking what these days.”* Not
pointed at him—but in his orbit.
- **Bethany Misdirection:** This is crucial. Someone at the office—ideally
Lydia—says something like:
*“Y’know, after Bethany... I just didn’t think we’d get this version of you again.”*
It’s compassionate, and it grounds Bethany in emotional reality without giving her
too much narrative gravity yet.
### ᾞ Narrative Repositioning:
- **Bethany’s Role**
Mention her name *now*, but limit it to emotional context only. Avoid details. Let
her live in that shadowy emotional silhouette for a while.
- **Conspiracy Displacement**
Let the narrative tension seem to circle around his grief—Ezra himself maybe
thinks it *is* about Bethany. Meanwhile, the reader is being led to think *the story
is about uncovering what happened to her.*
### Ὄ Chapter Objectives:
1. Ezra is promoted under suspiciously vague justification.
2. Hints at possible surveillance or suspicion.
3. Bethany is introduced as a past loss that everyone tiptoes around.
4. Ezra feels alienated by the recognition rather than affirmed.
5. Ends with another moment of uncanny disquiet: maybe an anonymous
message in the company breakroom printer tray, or another digital anomaly.
Would you like a draft of the promotion scene next?

USER:
I think ezra *needs* to think it's about Bethany. even within the promotion scene,
he has to wonder if part of what's not all adding up has to do with this. his silence
isn't being bought over the real conspiracy, Ezra has to think it's about Bethany in
order for the misdirection to work. right?

ASSISTANT:
Yes—*exactly right*. That’s the key to the whole misdirection functioning at a
character and reader level.

Here’s how it clicks into place:
---
### ᾞ Ezra’s Mindset:
Ezra isn’t paranoid *about* the conspiracy—he’s paranoid about **Bethany**.
That’s where his suspicion points. That’s where his pain anchors. The promotion
feels like a way of buying his silence, but *he thinks it’s because he knows
something about her death*. That belief gives his silence moral weight and
emotional tension.
He *wants* to think he’s being watched because of something meaningful,
because **she** mattered. That’s the tragedy of it.
---
### Ἲ Reader Experience:
This lets readers feel like they’re ahead of the game. *“Ah, it’s not just
Bethany—it’s something bigger.”* But then the twist still works, because *they*
didn’t see the laundering scheme coming either. Everyone’s misled by the
emotional gravity of her absence.
---
### ✅ Narrative Requirements for Chapter Six:
- Ezra reflects on how nobody at the company ever talked about what happened
with Bethany—but suddenly he’s being promoted.
- The conversation around his promotion has that HR polish. *“We just appreciate
your consistency. Not everyone handles loss with that kind of professionalism.”*
- A comment gets made like, *“The best thing we can do after something like that
is move forward, right?”*
- Ezra sees meaning in it that isn’t there.
- A second uncanny message appears by the end of the chapter to push tension
higher.
---
Would you like me to sketch out the opening few paragraphs of the promotion
scene with this misdirection woven into it?

USER:
A comment gets made like, “The best thing we can do after something like that is
move forward, right?”
this right here

ASSISTANT:
Yes. That line *does* exactly what you want it to. It’s innocuous to anyone
else—but to Ezra, it’s a dagger slid in sideways. It’s so vague it could mean
anything, which makes it worse.
It captures the sinister banality of corporate language, where even grief is
repackaged as a growth opportunity. To everyone else it’s just another HR cliché,
but to Ezra, it confirms they *know*. Or think they know. Or want him to think they
know.
It makes the whole promotion feel radioactive—wrapped in flattery, but humming
with implication.
Would you like a short scene built around that moment, as a possible mid-chapter
climax? Or are you thinking more about overall structure right now?

USER:
let's stick with our linear approach, it appears to be working for us

ASSISTANT:
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ASSISTANT:
Got it — we’ll stay the course, building each chapter step by step. Let me know
when you’re ready to dive into the opening of Chapter Six.

USER:
Okay, this looks like the end of chapter five. somehow the word count falls right in
line... I'm sure it'll go through minor refining by the time it's posted, but I think it
works for now
The Black Sheep sat at the corner of an alley. Its two stories occupied one half of
what was once a firehouse. The garage portion had been annexed by the
rowhome on the other side, while the living quarters were turned into this English
pub. They had buffed out the lettering, but a century of being protected from the
light left a discoloration in the faint shape of Station 27. A mark of history the city
couldn’t erase.

Ezra circled around the block twice, trying to get a feel for the place, before
parking a few streets away. No meters here, just rusted signs that no one
bothered to enforce. He killed the engine, took a long breath, then stepped into
the world.
Ezra squinted in the sunshine, stumbled a bit. It was bright, but the breeze had a
dampness to it. One of those days where no matter how it felt now, rain could
always be right around the corner.
The facade was well worn. Familiar, tired, necessary. A wooden sign hung out over
the entrance. The large front window had decades of dust distorting the view of
inside. The city’s grit had been permanently etched into the glass.
Ezra pulled the door open. The hinges groaned in greeting. Inside on the wall was
a community cork board. Tucked between old flyers for open mics and missing
cats, was a small stack of business cards. Arlo Voss, attorney at law. No case too
strange, it said.
The inside was dim, not dark. It felt deliberate, an intentional sanctuary from the
outside world. The cloudy front window filtered in muted sunlight. The painted
fixtures had long since lost their luster, but this did nothing except comfort him.
Ezra slid onto a stool near the end of the bar, where the curve of its L shape gave
him a good sightline to the door. The bar smelled of varnish and citrus cleaner, a
good kind of old. Ezra rested his hands on the once polished wood, cool beneath
his fingertips, rough from spots where the lacquer wore away. A quiet clatter of
billiard balls came from the back room, where someone was playing alone. A TV
above the shelves played silent news, where plastic anchors repeated the same
phrases with mechanical precision.
“First time here?” the bartender asked as he tossed a coaster in front of Ezra.
“Yeah, someone from the office suggested I check this place out.”
“This little hole?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No accounting for taste, I guess.”
“What’ll it be?”
“Bourbon on the rocks, something decent but not pricey.”
While the bartender pulled a bottle from the bottom shelf, Ezra continued to take
the place in. Something in the atmosphere was suspiciously relaxing. Quiet
chatter mixed with even quieter tunes. Songs he knew but could say nothing
about by whom they were recorded. These days it was hard for him to trust
anything that encouraged him to let his guard down, but this space tugged on the
quieter parts of his heart.
He let himself sit there, just breathing. Letting the place settle around him like
dust.
After setting the glass in front of Ezra with a cheers, the bartender walked back
halfway down the bar to continue his chat with a man who looked familiar, but in a
way he couldn’t place. It pulled on his mind, where this man was from. He was
older, heavyset. Wearing a suit with no intention of impressing anyone, with an
undone top shirt button and a tie just loose enough to let him breathe.
When in the course of their conversation, the man glanced down at Ezra, it

dawned on him.
“Excuse me,” Ezra said. “Are those your cards on the wall there? The lawyer?”
The man turned on his stool with the smugness of someone who expected to be
recognized eventually.
“Depends who’s asking,” he said. His voice was strained from all the extra weight
around his windpipe.
Ezra barely lifted his glass in a loose half-toast. “Ezra Calloway.”
“That so?” The man smiled, not surprised. “Arlo Voss, attorney at law. No case too
strange.”
“You really put that on your card?”
Arlo gave a small shrug. “People remember strange more than they remember
useful.”
Ezra took a sip, letting the whiskey’s burn linger a bit before swallowing.
“So what brings you to our little watering hole?” the lawyer asked, always aware
of how to keep the conversation moving.
“As I was telling your friend, someone from the office told me I should come check
the place out.”
“Yeah, where do you work?”
“Mutual Life and Property,” Ezra replied.
At the mention of that name, Arlo’s eyes lit up. “This friend of yours,” he asked,
“it’s not Barry Glass, is it?”
“Yeah, that’s him,” replied Ezra, trying to conceal the knot in his stomach. The
peaceful strangeness of the place quickly became tense with familiarity.
“That’s funny, we were just talking about him.”
Ezra finished his drink and pushed the empty glass towards the inner edge of the
bar.
“Another?”
“Sure.”
“This one’s on me,” said Arlo.
The bartender came back over, placed a fresh drink in front of Ezra, then returned
to leaning against the bar by Arlo, who proceeded to grill Ezra about his work.
Simultaneously relieved and unnerved, Ezra tried his best to remain honest but
not let his answers get too deep. On the one hand, there was so much inside of
him that needed to be let out. On the other, he had no idea who this man was, or
why he’d want to know so much about the company.
Every evasive maneuver Ezra attempted was met with the rhetorical precision of a
man who had argued in front of many judges. Half answers were pressed further,
pause was given to process the information. It was impossible for Ezra to
understand all that Arlo wanted from him.
When both of their drinks were empty, Ezra offered to return the favor.
“Next time,” replied Arlo. “I have to get back to work, but it was good to meet
you.”
“Yeah...”
Ezra’s voice trailed off, fully unsure whether it was actually nice.
There was a silence in the room that Ezra only now noticed. The presence of this

silence had been hidden by the lawyer’s boisterousness, but it had been there the
whole time.
Ezra tried his best to sit in it while the bartender busied himself with washing
glasses and wiping down the bar. But the longer he sat in it, the tighter his chest
felt. Had he said too much?
“What’s that guy’s schtick?” he asked the bartender, finally unable to take it any
longer.
“Arlo?” he asked with a chuckle. “He wants what any lawyer wants, for you to
think he’s right.”
Back to the silence, back to the nebulous thoughts swirling around his mind.
“Another drink?”
“No, I should get going too.”
On his way out, Ezra paused at the bulletin board. There was his face, in high
gloss cardstock. Even in his headshot, Arlo couldn’t keep his top button and tie up
tight. Impulsively, without really thinking, Ezra grabbed one. Next time, he
thought.
Walking back to the car, the clouds started to gather. Ezra knew the sunlight was
too good to last.
He climbed in, and turned the key. As soon as the engine started, the defroster
was blowing at full speed. The whirl of the blower motor came as such a shock, his
mind half numbed from the booze. By the time he understood what was
happening, the letters started to appear on the inside of the windshield.
Keep Going

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