"In here," Gayle said, pulling open the Rite Aid door and pushing Pawn through. She checked to see if anyone noticed them entering. There was a woman scolding a child for picking chewing gum up from the sidewalk and a man fighting with a Coke machine trying to make it accept a bill. No agents, no police. Following Pawn through the entrance, she removed her blazer, turned it inside out, and donned the now Khaki jacket with a final tug from the front hems to straighten it out.

She surveyed the interior while she pulled her hair into a knotted pony tail. There was an ice cream station to the left, immediately followed by cosmetics counters. To the right was the liquor and cheap wine racks set perpendicular to the toy aisles. The pharmacy was set completely in the back and to the right; she could see the pharmacist moving about doing something she couldn't quite make out. To the left of the back storage area was a small office. An Annie Lennox song was playing over the store PA.

Gayle was keenly aware that Pawn was a "special" person, but she had no idea how he would react in a flight situation. She'd seen field agents loose their cool under pressure. Having no idea as to the source of Pawn's pseudoautistic condition, she had to be careful she didn't set him off. She had to make sure that she controlled the situation and that she could properly control him.