<span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">Once I sat down in the cab, the fear hit me like a truck. I managed to squeak out a destination to the driver, then I sat back trying to control the shaking tremors running through me. It wasn’t just because I had just faced down a man who could have bent me in two. He was scary, and for all I knew he could have been waiting for me outside the tavern, and he could be still, but I knew he wasn’t the majority of the ‘trouble’ that Crazy John had seen. Frank had been right, after a fashion. It was a terrible risk to go after someone as powerful as Salvarion, and it would come with a host of new enemies if I survived it, successful or not. That’s part of what the favors were for, but in this case even seven big favors might not be enough to keep me safe even if I did manage to hand in the target for the bounty. Then there was the fact that I was absolutely not prepared to handle the target in any kind of straight fight. I knew that, deep in my bones. I could become prepared, I could train and find solutions to foreseeable problems, but right now I was not and there was no way I could convince my nervous system otherwise. Not without unforeseeable consequences anyway. There’s magic to make you fearless, no doubt, but fearless wasn’t what I needed. It was information. I focused my mind on that and engaged in the breathing techniques that would calm me enough to be productive. One breath after another, all the way in, all the way out and twice as long on the draw. There were some interesting meditations I knew that involved imagining the breath as light as I moved it, but I didn’t want to accidentally blow up the cab.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey man, you alright back there?” The cabby was a young man in his twenties, light blonde hair and dimples in his smile. Charming.<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, just got chewed out by the boss. She scares the shit out of me sometimes.” It might not have been the most convincing lie, but apparently the flush on my face looked enough like embarrassment that the driver didn’t question it. Normally I’d think the guy driving the car wouldn’t care enough to examine me closely, but it seemed like I had a saint on my hands. His face got all empathetic and flared with a righteous anger.<br/>
<br/>
“That’s not right man, you shouldn’t have to work for someone that scares you like that. You should get a different job.” He was glancing back at me every couple of seconds, more worried about me than keeping his eye on the road.<br/>
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I held up a hand to forestall his concern. “Nah, ain’t no way I can replace the income without this job, and I need the money for a friend. Just get me downtown before closing time, and you’ll have been a great help.”<br/>
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He set to the task like a dog to the bone. “Yes, sir, I’ll get you there quicker than you can blink. Where was it you wanted to go again?”<br/>
<br/>
“Downtown for now, I’m gonna call someone to find a good place to buy a wine.”<br/>
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“Oh, you should have said so sooner! There’s this new winery on the block that is all the rave right now. I’ve taken more than ten people there in the past week. You should definitely check it out.” He gave me a winning smile through the rear-view mirror.<br/>
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I smiled back at him, glad to get off the previous subject. “Ten people huh? That a lot?”<br/>
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“You kidding? For one cabby that’s half the city! Yeah, you should definitely check this place out.”<br/>
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I let out a short laugh. “Alright friend, what’s this place called?”<br/>
<br/>
“Wolford Winery. Just wait til you see it.” His happy puppy impression held, he was grinning back at me like I had a treat.<br/>
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I grinned. “Will I have to wait long?”<br/>
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“No, sir,” he said. “Not in this cab!”<br/>
<br/>
Geez. Maybe I should pull this scaredy-cat routine more often.<br/>
</span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">***</span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><br/>
I waved to the cabby as he drove off, then turned to face the Winery. The street decor was lively and bright, and quietly wealthy in a way that made me think no one in the area had to worry too much about where their next meal was coming from. That meant it would be a bad place for an ambush, so I put thoughts of Jackson out of my mind for the time being. The winery itself was an exquisite display, sticking out from the modernity with simple materials and hand-worked artisanry. While I had no particular love for woods, I did recognize craftsmanship when I saw it, and if their wine was as fine as the work before me, I was sure I’d find what I needed.<br/>
<br/>
I went inside, hearing a light ringing above my head in the doorway, and a fragrant bouquet of scents washed over me, laced with the slightest buzz of alcohol. The bar was teeming with tipsy patrons, but I swept my eyes over them until I found someone who looked like they were working, and not too busy to take a few questions. That was when I saw her, tending to a display of large bottles coming out of boxes. She was tall, with a lush mane of auburn hair and eyes deeper than the ocean. She moved with a deep sense of propriety, and I could tell this was her place, and she was proud of it. I continued toward her, making only a slight course correction to close the distance. As I got closer I noticed that my favorite part of the perfume of the place was coming from her, so I made sure she saw me before admiring a little more the symmetry of her features. My eyes were dancing through her freckles when I reached her, then I smiled and met her eyes. “Hello, your place comes highly recommended and I am in need of something special. Could I ask for a moment of your time?”</span>