(You can PM Marcus or I in order to join the thread.  You can come in as a customer or to see either of them)

It wasn't like there had been a high demand for more workers in the Burning Pot.  However it seemed like there wasn't a good atmosphere around the manager Nathan Hunter.  And since the man had been managing the day to day operations of the tavern for quite some time Alex had decided to give the man a much needed vacation.  Usually something like time off could do wonders for a man's personality at the job when they came back.  And since Alex was back in town and had no where of importance to be in the foreseeable future he could go back to managing it for a while.

His most beloved waitress was working as well.  Elaine Hart was a young blonde girl and easily the most attractive on the staff.  Supposedly she was the reason why some of his regulars continually came back, and specifically on the girl's shift.  Not that he was surprised by that.  However, her looks were hardly the reason he had originally hired her.  She had been a struggling college student when she applied for the position some years back.  That wasn't an uncommon thing, but she was also a strong independent woman that had the uncanny ability of perceiving when someone was lying.  Not like Alex...he had the use of Legelimency to actually peer into a person's thoughts to make that decision.  Elaine was just smart when it came to interactions with others and that made her a perfect fit as a waitress.  And it also helped that she absolutely loved her job.  She loved socializing and after all she was his adopted daughter in and often she would tell him of her troubles and was always the one to ask Alex when she knew something was wrong with him.

Having spent his entire last night with Claudia he was probably in the best mood he could possibly be in.  Things were starting to feel normal for once in a very long time.  Still he needed to keep himself focused and not too relaxed.  Not until he could say that all of his troubles were long gone.  And until Alex and Marcus could find out the source of his kidnapping and put that to bed there was no way he could ever fully ease up.

Marcus was somewhat lost in what to do now.  At least it seemed that way to Alex.  Case and point Marcus had asked Alex if he had a need for him at the Burning Pot.  Well, after Alex had reviewed the expenses and previous earnings in the time he had been away he got a crazy idea.  Expanding his business hours.  It was a four hour addition.  He would open an hour earlier and close three hours later then what had been before.  Originally he was open for business from 11am to 1am.  Now he would open from 10am to 4am.  Of course that meant there was only a six hour downtime, and Alex would have to adjust schedules and hire new personnel.  So after grinding numbers and talking over things with his manager Nathan Hunter before kicking him out on vacation he had made the decision.   So he told Marcus he would definitely need his help.

The most interesting thing about this development was that Marcus had no real experience in this kind of field.  And after playing the political field for so long it might be a bit of a shock.  But Alex knew how well Marcus could adapt to a situation.  Though Marcus is a metamorph and could literally become whoever he wanted.  That thought halted Alex's thoughts and he laughed.

"What's so funny, boss?" Elaine asked as she appeared next to him.

"Nothing in particular," he waved it off and as he looked towards the bar.  The one working the bar at the moment was Gerald Watterson.  He was the usual bartender but there were two other ones...one he had recently hired too but his name escaped him at the moment.  Caroline looked like she was grabbing a drink for a customer.  Alex smiled a bit...as rude and cruel as Caroline often came across as she was also incredibly protective and came off like a saint to most of the customers.  She was a hard worker and spared nobody if anyone in the staff troubled Elaine.  As you can imagine Caroline and Nathan often got into spats with each other, the one most relieved he had been forced to take a vacation was Caroline herself.

Alex made his way over to Marcus who was about to start his training for the Burning Pot.  "Alright, Marcus.  Any initial questions you have before you get put through the ringer?  Also you can ask Elaine, she knows just about everything about this place."

Alex was nice enough to put Marcus up in a flat from the complex that he owns. It was a small, one-bedroom deal with a spacious living room. It was already furnished when he arrived, but what surprised Marcus the most that most of it was his old stuff. Alex had the foresight to haul it all to storage before his flat was sold off, and Marcus was particularly grateful that his weightlifting set had survived the transition. He had spent the last few days getting back into shape, and gaining the weight he had lost during his time away. He was looking a little more lean, but not at all near where he was before.

He looked at his pocket watch and cursed the quick passage of time. He had already finished his morning workout, shower, and breakfast. He just needed to figure out what to wear. Alex had mentioned that he would be taking over temporarily as manager, so Marcus decided to look the part. A quick change later into a pair of dark slacks, navy blue button-up over a black t-shirt, and he was ready to go. He borrowed one of Alex's forearm holsters for his wand. Yes, they were just Muggles in a Muggle establishment, and no, he shouldn't be using magic in front of them. However, his recent brush with danger left him feeling rather defensive, so he would take it just in case.

He Apparated into the back room, making a small but obvious CRACK as the air parted to accommodate the addition to the space. Marcus brushed off his shirt and pants, making sure he looked immaculate. Using his wand discreetly, he unlocked the door and re-locked it as he exited. The rest of the staff was ready to go, and they were all waiting for Marcus. He was told the basics the night before, and Alex seemed confident that Marcus was up to the task. He was the Minister of Magic, after all. He handled that job well, how hard could a day of kitchen managing be?

Marcus shook his head when Alex asked if he had any additional questions, and made eye contact with Elaine to let her know that he was aware. The team split up, and Marcus was left to his own devices for a few minutes. He walked over to the front of the tavern and examined his surroundings, making sure to remember where everything was kept. He had never run a cash register before, so he would leave that to the other employees. Marcus had one job tonight: to make sure that everything ran smoothly. He would be there for the whole day at Alex's request, so Marcus would do his best to make sure the place didn't burn down.

The first customers of the day entered about a half an hour after they opened. The Burning Pot had a number of breakfast items, and there was almost always an early rush from what Marcus could remember. "Welcome to The Burning Pot, my name is Marcus. Would you like a booth or a table?" The patrons looked cheerful, but a little tired. The younger man looked to have a hangover. The older man, likely his father, replied for the both of them.

"Booth please," said the man. "Near a window, if you wouldn't mind."

Marcus sat them at a booth with a good view, and set down their menus. "One of our servers will be with you shortly to get your drink order."

The older man's perked up. "Is Elaine here?"

"Yes, she is."

"Splendid," replied the older man.

The younger one cracked a half-smile through the apparent headache. Marcus could help but smile himself. Alex was right, some people actually do come here because of her. "I'll have her over here in just a moment."

Marcus walked back to the employee area. "They asked for you specifically," Marcus said to Elaine. "Is this going to be a running theme of the day?"

It was pretty common for the patrons to ask specifically for Elaine.  Well most of the waitresses tended to have "fans" in one form or another.  Although the nature of those fans was what was often left to question.  It was why occasionally on evenings where Elaine had gotten significant attention he would often walk her home to make sure none of them had gotten any bright ideas...and had been a good thing he had a few times.  Though to be honest Elaine was a tough girl...and carried a nice can of mace in her bag for any would be attacker.  Alex was sure that it had more to do with Elaine's mostly positive outlook on life.  Her smile tended to be infectious and even if you had the most foul of moods you would feel better just being around her. 

Alex shook his head, Elaine had become almost a surrogate daughter to him yet he didn't know much about her home life.  He did know that she lived alone and had moved out of her parents house when she was just sixteen.  But Alex had more or less been independent since he was able to be.  His Foster Father had put him to work and gave him his own apartment, which more or less had fueled Alex's drive to be self reliant.  He remembered moving in with Ariella when he had first gotten married and how strange it felt to be living with her.  It was certainly not something he could forget...especially with how happy he had been then.  He frowned and looked over to Gerald as the man behind the bar gave him a shot of whiskey.

"Drinking already boss?" Gerald eyed Alex with a bit of concern.

"Yeah, don't tell Elaine.  She'll lecture me for an hour," Alex said as he eyed Elaine talking to Marcus and quickly downing the drink while it seemed she wasn't looking.

"Oh that old man?" Alex heard Elaine talking.  "That's just Phil, he's mostly harmless.  He likes to say he's here for the atmosphere but the old fool won't let anyone serve him but me.  Like that doesn't make it obvious.  Yeah, don't be surprised if they ask for me.  Boss likes to call me the Burning Pot's resident celebrity.  Usually if you tell them I am swamped with work they will let you serve them though."

Maybe it was incredibly strange for a wizard to own a muggle bar.  And because of his own reputation Alex put all of them in danger.  Still he wouldn't change it.  He was glad to be able to know these wonderful people.  Alex was a pure blood, and he remember being called a blood traitor at one point because he had married Ariella who had been a half-blood.  None of that stuff had ever been that important to Alex.  It seemed like no one even cared to mention that stuff after the second rise of Voldemort.  After that whole business no one really mentioned your blood.  Maybe people were finally tired of it.  At least Alex hoped that was the truth of it.  Though in reality there would always be a portion of the wizarding world that would never give up that point of view.  Just like there was always the possibility of a dark wizard on the scale of Voldemort could always happen again.

Alex was done with that world.  He was just a fighter struggling to find a place in the new world.  Him and Marcus both.  Marcus stepped down when he realized that he wasn't what was best for the Ministry.  Things change...and as the world continued to move forward it seemed they would only have to run along to try and keep up.  But Alex finally felt like he was moving forward.  With Claudia at his side...maybe he would finally find the happiness he once had in his life.  Alex smiled a bit thinking of Claudia before turning to watch Marcus' progress.

Letting Elaine take the majority of the business had to have been an ego boost for her, but it seemed like it could be bad for business. Or, at least, bad for the other servers. Granted, they were all paid what they earned, but if Elaine was receiving the majority of the tips that could cause some resentment between her and the other servers. Marcus would have to recommend something to Alex later that night. Perhaps some vacation time is in order, so that the regular patrons, or "fans" as Alex likes to call them, can get acquainted with some of the other staff.

Alex had a good crew, and Marcus knew that Alex saw it in them. They moved with a grace that can only be gained by it being second nature. It almost seemed like Marcus didn't need to be there, but he knew better. This was just the breakfast rush. Dinner rush was something different, and Marcus' job was to make sure that the shift didn't fall apart.

Marcus repositioned chairs, arranged the dining tables so that everything was just-so, swept the floors... nitpicking, mostly. He wanted to make sure that The Burning Pot looked perfect for it's guests. There were ideas swimming in his head too, things he could do to get more business for Alex. Granted, there had never been a huge concern about making money, but new customers were always a good thing.

The efficiency of the cooks was nothing to be complained about, but it seemed like there was a way to take the orders faster. Marcus didn't have a firm grip on how dinner rush was going to be, but he knew it could easily turn to chaos. Especially once the bar opened up. If there was one thing that Marcus knew how to do well, it was to micro-manage. If the staff are given better and more efficient tools, then the work will be better and more efficient.

Marcus stopped to give Elaine a quick chat about pulling hostess duty for a little while. She happily obliged. Marcus was going to voice some ideas to Alex, but noticed Alex take a shot of whiskey. For breakfast, apparently. Either he was having a good day, or a horrible day. Either way, Marcus had no room to judge. Before his abduction, he had oftentimes had a glass or two of scotch before it was deemed socially acceptable to do so. After the abduction, however, Marcus found he couldn't go near it anymore. He had drank rather... copiously, during and after his argument with Moira. He couldn't help but feel like maybe it had something to do with his capture.

It was a shame. Single malts were his favorite, now he was repulsed by them. Maybe it was for the best, Moira had started to show concern for his drinking. After vacating the post as Minister of Magic, there wasn't much that Marcus was able to do. He was never much for hobbies. Moira always joked that he should have taken up model building or miniature trains and settle into retirement.

Moira.

"No, but close. It's John. No one ever said I looked like a Moira."

Marcus came to and saw a heavy-set gentleman standing at the entrance. "My apologies, sir. I didn't realize I said that out loud."

"No worries," said John. "You can make it up to me by taking me to my seat."

Marcus looked for Elaine, and saw she was already taking a family to a booth. "Right this way, sir." He sat John at a table, got his order, and took it to the kitchen.

(Information on the staff can be found Here)

"Boss, what are you doing?" Elaine came up to Alex and grabbed the shot of whiskey that Gerald had just poured him. 

Alex gave a look to Gerald, "I thought I said not to tell Elaine."

"She knows you better than I do, Alex," Gerald just shrugged but had an amused grin on his face.  Alex found it somewhat funny himself, he should have known better, but it had been such a long time since he had been around the Burning Pot that he was almost worried that the people he had hired would be gone.  But they were all still here.  He wasn't sure he would ever lose Elaine, but that was normal.

"Forget that.  Elaine why are you even here today?  Don't you usually have Mondays off?  Shouldn't Caroline be working?" Alex deflected the subject.

"Caroline had some problems but she'll be in soon.  Beside Mandy called in sick today, she got the flu.  So I'm basically covering the morning shift and Caroline will be here tonight," Elaine quickly explained.  "I sent you a text message about this change this morning.  Do you ever read what I send you?"

Alex frowned a bit.  He always forgot to carry the damn muggle device around with him.  When you are used to getting owls and other things you forget how your muggle employees know nothing of that sort.  Plus most cell phones don't even work in area's of the wizarding world.  Maybe magic just had a way of messing things up when mixed with technology.  Alex seemed to remember about a car that now roams the forbidden forest of Hogwarts.  Yeah...giving muggle technology a personality was definitely weird.  "I kind of misplaced my phone.  It's probably just sitting on my desk where I usually leave it though.  What's going on with Caroline?  She okay?"

"She says she is but..." Elaine certainly didn't look like she believed that at all.  "You know how she is boss.  She keeps a lot of things to herself and..."

"I get it you're worried about her.  She'll be in later, I'm sure she will be just fine," Alex smiled.  "Now get back to work.  And yes I won't drink anymore, okay?  I'm just going to be talking with everyone to make sure things were fine while I was away."

"As you say boss," Elaine seemed to be a little better now.  She was obviously worried about Caroline.  Alex could understand that. Caroline had long been looking after Elaine.  The two were like sisters.

"Those girls worried every day about you.  Even though they should know better by now," Gerald was wiping down the counter, one of the last things he always does before the bar opens officially.  "I'm guessing it had something to do with your friend who you hired."

"Sharp as always Gerald.  You know that work isn't something I can speak about though," Alex sighed.

"Yes a need to know basis right?  If you don't mind me asking, if you have so much money coming in from your collection of apartment complexes and The Burning Pot, why do you even bother with the other work?  Seems like you get into some dangerous situations," Gerald asked.  It was a legitimate question.  Technically Alex never had a need to work.  He could easily just exchange the muggle money over for use in the wizarding world as he needed.  But that wasn't it.

"Well, my adoptive father taught me to always push myself.  And sometimes, its the best way to forget the past," Alex said somberly.  "Now its just habit.  I don't think I would know what to do with myself.  I'm sure Claudia would give me a few ideas."

"Started dating again?" Gerald asked.

"A while back I guess.  We kind of put our relationship on hold but worked rather close together over the last few months.  We became a lot closer without either of us really knowing it.  So mostly it has been us just trying to keep up with all the changes."  Alex stopped when he noticed the beginning of the usual lunch crowd starting to show.  "Enough on that, looks like your usual customers are coming your way."

"You look happier, Alex.  That's why Elaine hasn't been so hard on you.  She's been wanting you to be happy all this time," Gerald said.

"I'll get out of your hair," Alex got to his feet.  "I'm going to go check on John in the kitchen until Leo comes in.  Make sure he doesn't get overwhelmed with orders."  Alex waved as he walked off towards the kitchen.  He looked over to Marcus as he was taking the order of a large group that had just come in.  "Geesh Marcus, since when did we go from hunting dark wizards over a warzone to both of us here at the Burning Pot?  Times sure are different."

"I'll take those menus off your hands. Your orders will be ready in no time at all." Marcus gathered the over-sized menus and tucked them back where they belonged at the front of the store. He had finally caught on to writing shorthand by watching Elaine, and his job became infinitely easier. It was a simple system, and it worked well enough for The Burning Pot, but Marcus couldn't help but feel like something could change. Especially in this day and age, with the way Muggle technology had progressed.

He filed the thought away, not wanting to complicate things on his first day here. He put the thought right next to all the others he had about streamlining the business. He couldn't help it. As Minister of Magic, he helped shape the wizarding world in London and abroad. He's had a long history of having to think several steps ahead of his opposition, whether it's because of survival or because of politics. From his perspective, there was always a way to do things better.

"You know how she is boss.  She keeps a lot of things to herself and..."

Marcus tuned his ears to Elaine. She sounded worried about someone. Caroline, Marcus assumed.  He knew Elaine had to switch shifts with her for... some reason. It seemed personal, and Marcus didn't want to get in the middle of it. Marcus waited until Alex walked away, hoping to talk to her one-on-one. Dale had just arrived, so Marcus asked him to cover things for a few minutes while it was slow.

He pulled Elaine aside near the bar. "Elaine, I overheard you a second ago. You're worried about someone. Is it Caroline?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing," Elaine replied.

Something didn't seem right, so Marcus pressed further. "It doesn't sound like nothing. What's going on?"

"It's nothing to worry about," Elaine lied, "I'm just getting a little too Mother Hen. She just had some things to deal with."

Elaine wasn't the only one who knew how to lie. "Alright, then I won't worry about it either," Marcus said, reassuringly. "Let's get back to work." Elaine relieved Dale and greeted the next batch of customers, and Marcus walked to the back room to talk to Alex.

Marcus was already thinking about why Caroline would have to trade a shift. She could be sick, but if Caroline was sick, she more than likely just call out instead of coming in for the evening. From what he could tell, Caroline cared too much about this place to risk contamination. What about bills? People have bills to pay, maybe Caroline was at risk of getting her heat or water shut off? Alex is the type of person that would help out with that if things got bad, and he paid his workers well. Marcus had seen the books, and Alex was paying his employees almost three times what they would be making at any other establishment. Caroline was a pretty girl and a great worker, so tips would be plentiful for her.

"I'm just getting a little too Mother Hen."

That little sentence that Elaine had said just a moment ago seemed a bit odd. Marcus had heard that phrase in reference to one female protecting her group of friends from less than honorable types. It was a defense mechanism so that one of the flock isn't led astray. So who is Elaine trying to protect Caroline from?

"Alex," Marcus began, with a calm resolution he normally had during his days as an Auror. "Tell me about Caroline, and why she might need to be protected."

Alex sighed heavily after a moment as his old partner was asking a serious question.  He could understand that, Alex had done some minor peeking into all of his employees past and if there was ever any trouble, he was definitely sure to look into it.  "Caroline Byers, she was born and raised right here in London.  Initially I didn't see anything really wrong going on her life but she's just an excellent actress."

Even though his own thoughts hadn't really wanted to go in this direction he would give Marcus the details that he knew about Caroline's past, "I found out eventually that she came from an abusive household.  She was abused by her Father and well, usually after something like that you go one of two directions.  You either do everything you can to stay away from that kind of situation again or..."  Alex shook his head.  "Essentially she found herself in another abusive relationship.  Regardless of the fact that I believe her boyfriend is responsible...she'll show up to work late...often like today.  And when she shows up she'll have a bruise somewhere on her."

"Caroline still defends her boyfriend and claims that it wasn't him and that she fell or tripped or something hit her when she was trying to get something or...well you get the idea.  Look she's a great girl.  One of the best servers we have and is one of the most diligent workers here.  She is detail oriented and typically the one that makes sure that this place is up to her high standards.  I always have tried not to get involved in their lives outside of here.  I mean as a wizard and an Auror I could have put all of them in danger so I always have kept a low key profile here in the tavern.  And I wanted Caroline to ask for the help.  Does that make sense?  And I've never had more than circumstantial evidence that some sort of abuse had taken place," Alex looked over at the clock on the wall.  "She'll be here soon.  Hopefully she was just sick.  I'd like to think things had improved."

Alex wished for a lot of things, and while he wanted to go ring the neck of the boyfriend he didn't have any proof that it was him.  His information network reached more into the wizarding world and not the muggle one.  Although he could probably divert some resources to finding out he could see the thoughts going on behind Marcus' eyes.  "Alright, what are you thinking, Marcus?"

"You know you don't have to justify a damn thing to me, Alex. She's an employee, and has a right to her privacy. Physical evidence of abuse or not, all you can really do is suggest and advise the help. I've been there, and it's hard to feel helpless to put a stop to it." Marcus decided to ignore Alex's comment for now. He'd like to think things had improved? Those weren't the words of the Alex that fought alongside him when they were Aurors. Then again, would Marcus have thought of anything different if he were in the same position?

During the discussion, Alex had pulled her employment record. Marcus opened the simple manilla envelope and explored it's contents. "She seems to do this every month, around the first week." Marcus next looked at the payroll records, mostly thankful that Alex hadn't completely adopted a computer system for this sort of information. "Everyone gets paid at the beginning of every month. Once a month during the first week she shows up late with a new bruise or two." He furrowed his brow, not because he couldn't figure it out, but because the thought of it made him angry. "She's in an abusive relationship, she shows up late with bruises during the week of payday. Alex, I think she's being extorted by this guy."

Alex had listened to everything Marcus had said. He asked, but had to have known he didn't need to. "Alright, what are you thinking, Marcus?"

"You know what I'm thinking. We get this guy, make him stop what he's doing. Guys like this like to think their an alpha male, but that's only because they spend so much time picking on the least powerful people. He's not going to respond to being pushed, he'll just push back harder on his victim." Marcus continued the thought in his head for a moment, working out the details before saying them out loud.

"He's a criminal, not unlike some of the wizards we've put away. He wields fear as a weapon, but he has a simple way of going about it. It's a safe bet he's weak-minded, easy to scare if we hit him in the right spot." Marcus thought hard about what to do. His skill as a Metamorphmagus would come in handy, because he can be just about anyone.

A feeling of pure elation washed over Marcus. "Give me about thirty minutes with the security footage, I'm assuming that her boyfriend has been here before." He grabbed a pen and a pad of paper, and scribbled down some questions. "When Caroline comes in, ask her these questions. Try to be subtle about it if you can. The more detail, the better. Names, dates, favorite foods, simple things that an idiot would ask to confirm an identity." Marcus ripped the page from the pad and handed it to Alex. "What am I thinking? I'm thinking that it would be a bad night for this guy if he suddenly ran into himself."

He gave Marcus free reign of the security footage.  It was relatively easy to figure out as the schedule at the Burning Pot didn't change too often.  It only ever changed in the summer time when some of them had more time to work because they were out of college for a time.  Typically though it didn't change as things ran smoothly as it was.  Alex left Marcus to his own devices as he looked over the questions that Marcus had written down.

It was simple questions, plus Alex had only seen Caroline for short amounts of time since he had come back.  It wouldn't be unusual for him to talk to her a bit more.  He should have known better, but Alex was sure he knew what his problem was and why he had never investigated further.  It was because he had mentally separated his wizard life from the muggle one.  So he hadn't really thought that he had any way of doing anything for Caroline.  After all using magic on muggles was a sure way to ...well get into a lot of trouble.  However what Marcus was planning was going to do would be more in the grey area.  He wasn't using magic on a muggle...or performing it in front of him.  It was going to be...interesting.

Alex saw Caroline as she entered and made her way into the back area in the kitchen where all the servers went to get ready for their shift.  There was plenty of room to sit and lockers to store their belongings.  Alex casually made his way back to her and observed her for a moment.  Caroline had long black hair that she took incredibly good care of.  It went down to the middle of her back and was currently braided as she always did for work.  That was when Alex noticed the bruise on left arm as Caroline was looking at it, thinking that no one was watching her.  He took that moment to make some noise while facing away from her to give her a chance to hide it under her long sleeves.

"So you're back now?" Caroline was the one that spoke to him. 

Alex turned towards her acting as if he hadn't known she was there, "Oh Caroline.  I've been back, didn't Elaine tell you?"

"Yeah, of course, she told me the minute you showed back up," Caroline rolled her eyes.  "It's good to see you boss."

"Yeah, you too.  How have you been?" Alex asked as he moved and sat on the chair opposite of Caroline.

She immediately looked away from Alex and instead pretending to check her cell phone, "Been just fine.  Better now that Elaine isn't constantly worried about you."

"Oh really?  I heard that you were worried about me too," Alex couldn't help but grin.  Especially when Caroline started to fidget with her phone a bit more and made even more of an effort to keep her eyes diverted.

"Maybe you wouldn't worry people so much if you told them you were leaving in the first place.  We had to hear it from Nathan that you were going to be gone a while...and he went stupid with all the power you left him with," Caroline commented finally looking up at Alex. 

"Yeah, didn't think that would happen," Alex frowned.  He figured now would be a good time for a change and get to the information that Marcus would need.  "How have you been?  You still with whats his face?"

"You mean Justin?  Yeah..." Caroline said with a somewhat blank look. 

***

After a few minutes, Caroline needed to get on shift but despite the reason Alex had talked to her it had felt good to get her talking.  She looked a lot more like herself out on the floor than when he had first approached her when she arrived.  Elaine had voiced concerns about Caroline once more before Alex assured her that everything would be fine and convinced her to go home.  Alex grabbed a small notebook and wrote down the details of the answers that Marcus wanted and headed back to the office where Marcus was looking over security footage.

"Alright here is what I learned.  That was about all I could get.  Got most of the things you wanted answered done though," Alex put it down on the desk in front of Marcus.  "You going to want any help or should I just leave this to you?"

Watching security footage is a lot like surveillance; it's about ninety-nine percent boring, with one percent actually doing something. That is, if you can catch what you need to catch. Marcus spent a lot of time fast-forwarding through meaningless footage, only stopping to see Caroline when she would be late for work. Sometimes she'd have a visible bruise, sometimes it was just a general sense of sadness. It was only a few week's worth of footage, but Marcus was already angry. As an employer, there wasn't much Alex could do except give her the right phone numbers for help. Why didn't he come to Marcus sooner with this?

"Oh right, I was abducted."

Marcus finished up with what he needed and switched to the live feed. Alex was doing as he was asked, asking questions and writing down the answers. After a few minutes, it seemed she was getting suspicious, because she confronted Alex. There was no audio, but Marcus had a general idea though reading lips and watching the body posture. Alex played the part perfectly, backing down when he thought she was catching onto him. Marcus checked the time, and realized he'd been in this room for almost an hour.

He was thinking about getting back to his actual work when Alex walked through the door. "Alright here is what I learned.  That was about all I could get.  Got most of the things you wanted answered done though. You going to want any help or should I just leave this to you?" Alex placed the notepad on the desk in front of Marcus.

"I don't know, let me take a look at this." Marcus read certain parts of the notepad out loud. "Okay... Justin Lavelle DuMorne... Olive Green... Pepperoni pizza and chicken nuggets." Marcus paused, and looked concerned. "Pepperoni pizza and chicken nuggets. So we're dealing with a six-year-old?" Marcus went back to reading the list. "Favorite movies, excellent. Oh, a knee injury from when he was twenty-two that still acts up." Marcus scanned and re-scanned the list before putting the pad in his pocket.

"Technically, I could do this by myself, but that wouldn't be fair to you. I've got no patience for people who treat women like this, and you want to see this whole mess end between Justin and Caroline." Marcus thought about how to execute the next step, and immediately came up with an idea. "I'm going to the storage room to get rid of most of your supply of napkins, so you can go out and..." Marcus put finger quotations up. "Buy some more napkins."

"Go to Justin's address..." Marcus took out the pad and copied the street address onto another page. "Ask if he's seen Caroline. Now, here's where it gets interesting..."