The office was stuffy despite the cool temperature outside; many of the people within were already having sweat begin to bead on their foreheads. It was because of good old Murphy that the winds were blowing in the direction opposite of the windows, so no cooling breeze ever found its way within the room. In fact, the room was so still, a piece of paper abandoned on the floor did not move save for with the rustling of peoples' feet as they walked by. The office was mostly silent, save for the occasional chatter and the scratching of fountain pens on paperwork. Most of the said scratching came from one desk in particular. . .

There he sat, uniform clean and pressed, hammering away at his paperwork with his pen. The man seemed to have an unmatched diligence about him as he ran numbers and scenarios through his head quickly and efficiently. His broad arms were a pair one would be expected to be seen belonging to a factory worker, but this man was not your average laborer. His uniform was a dark blue, freshly tailored and amazingly crisp and vibrant compared to his comrades. It helped, of course, that it was new. The man's hair was quite long, and it shone a bright cerulean in the sun that glared in through the glass of a window. His eyes were as golden as what he wore on his chest: a badge.

His name was Picard, and he was a fresh recruit to the Tolbi Police Force's third precinct. He was a man of twenty one, and he had a youthful enthusiasm about him that no one else on the force seemed to have. This was only his first week on the job, and he was having the time of his life. Being a police officer had been his dream since he was old enough to talk. From the moment he completed his training, he was dedicated to do the right thing and work hard to help the force be more productive. He was but a private, so he was pretty much stuck at a desk filling out misdemeanor reports, but it suited him just fine. His fellow officers always eyed him as though he was daft, but he didn't let their opinions stop him from doing his job. In fact, there was only one of his co-workers who seemed to share in any sort of passion for the job they were doing, and he was sitting at the desk across from him.

He resembled him closely, looking hardly different right down to their uniforms. But there were two distinct differences between the two of them. Picard's friend had blue eyes rather than gold, and the cause of his drive was different. Unbeknownst to Picard or anyone else on the force, this man secretly held a grudge against one of the city's most notorious crime lords; he had lost his sister to one of his men. His parents he could've cared less about; what with the way they treated him and his sister, but the loss of his closest relative was too much for the man known to everyone as Alex.

Alex was not the most talkative man alive, nor was he the nicest on most occasions. He was usually bitter cold about life, seeing nothing but the dark realities of what really existed in the world as they knew it. His blue eyes were always cold and usually equally as harsh. He didn't have any friends but one, nor did he want them. He figured anyone else getting close to him would be nothing more than a liability in the end. And liabilities that weren't necessary were unacceptable to the stone hearted Mercury Adept. The reason why he'd become friends with Picard was a mystery even to himself. Picard was almost his polar opposite; he came from a loving family, didn't have any problems with the mafia, and had a fairly wide-eyed view of the world. Alex always thought someone like that would drive him madder than Jack the Ripper when he was without a soul to slay.

Right now, Alex had nothing more on his mind then three things. He still wanted revenge for his sister Ambi, he wanted to get his work done to keep Picard quiet, and he wanted to get out of the freaking building so he could get out of his stuffy uniform. Sweat was forming on his brow from the heat of the room and others around him, and Alex was not a man for warmth; he never had been. Sighing, he slipped another report into his out box and took one from his in box. This was the last one for the day, and then he would likely be assigned a beat for a couple of hours before he finally went off duty. He methodically wrote through the brief; it was regarding the theft of someone's wallet. It was an empty wallet, but it was a theft nonetheless, even as much as Alex hated filling out the paperwork for those kinds of things. Just as he finished, the captain of the precinct piled a stack of about twenty more misdemeanor reports into his inbox. After the captain had departed, Alex banged his head against his desk and silently swore to himself.

"I'm almost done, Alex. . . I can give you a hand with those if you want me to." Picard offered, taking his third to last report from his files. "I mean, I know how much you want to get out of here right now."

Alex didn't reply, but rather he shook his head and continued working with his pen carefully. The Mercury Adept silently wondered how much trouble he'd get into by shooting the captain with his revolver. He rebuked a moment later, realizing daydreaming wasn't going to get a darn thing done.

"Really, Alex. I can take those reports so you can walk the beat today if you want." Again, Alex made no verbal reply, but rather pointed at him with the tip of his pen, and motioned 'get out there and walk the beat before I make you' gesture. Picard sighed, knowing better than to argue with him when he was in this kind of mood. Instead, Picard finished up his last three reports and signed out for walking his route; down 20th Street, to Tidewater Avenue, up to 6th Street, and back to the station, which was on 13th Street. It was a long route, but Picard only had to walk through once and assist any other officers on duty. So, the Mercury Adept picked up his trusty nightstick and made sure he had his revolver as he prepared to head out.

"See you later, Alex." Picard stated, walking past his desk.

"Yeah, later." Alex replied in one of his rare moments of speaking.

********************************

It was the same no matter where he went.

"Have you a job opening?"

"No, we have no jobs."

"Have you a job opening?"

"Yes, but we have someone else to do it instead of you."

"Have you a job opening?"

"Not for the likes of you."

"Have you a job opening?"

"No, and we never will."

"Have you a job opening?"

"Not for Adepts. If you were normal, then we could talk."

It was these kinds of encounters Isaac met with several times on a daily basis. No matter where he went, there were no opportunities for employment, and if there were, the person who was hired was usually willing to work for almost dirt. Isaac didn't demand a high wage, not by a long shot, but he demanded a wage that would help keep him and everyone else at the Tavern sustained at little more. Isaac had been to so many unemployment lines, rumored job openings, and whatever else he could find it made his stomach turn. Not even the factories were willing to hire him. It was a tough business, and it was even tougher because he was an Adept. Adepts were not persecuted like witches, but they weren't trusted by many employers who thought Adepts could be a threat to keeping wages low. Needless to say, this made Isaac's search entirely more difficult.

It grew to be almost two in the afternoon, and Isaac sat on a curb outside of the restaurant he offered to help clean up. Times were so tough, he didn't even have enough for lunch. His tips that he earned at his piano usually went straight to Felix, totally by Isaac's choice. Felix was by far the best money manager among the lot of them, and he always did his best with what he had. However, sustaining six people on the profit of the bar was risky at best. This is why finding a job was so important to Isaac; he wanted to be able to help them have some extra money. Isaac sighed as he stared at the pavement road below him.

"No luck today, Isaac?" Ivan asked, walking up to him. The Venus Adept shook his head shamefully.

"There has to be one damned job in this whole city, Ivan. There has to be." Isaac said, obviously frustrated at himself. "That's all I ask for." The young Jupiter Adept sighed. Right now he was on the same odyssey as Isaac, and he was having the exact results.

"We'll find something, it's just a matter of when." Ivan replied, sitting down, resting his head in his hands.

"Or if." Isaac sighed. His eyes were full of doubt, both of self and of others.

"You sure don't have much faith in people any more, do you?" Isaac didn't falter or change his expression in the least. "I don't suppose you have reason to either. I mean, how many people out there have shown real kindness to any of us besides Felix and Kraden?" Isaac removed his head from his hands and sat up straight. Even so, he still made no reply. "I mean, I know your parents made a lot of sacrifice for you. . . but since then, who else? I can see how you don't like people much, Isaac." Isaac regarded Ivan's comments carefully before he finally broke his silence.

"It's not that I hate people, Ivan. It's that I have no faith in them to do the right thing anymore." Perhaps this viewpoint was the most logical and true angle one could have, given the situation. No one hired for capability, rather for how low a wage they would work for, no one seemed to care for the greater good, and no one seemed to care that there were dozens dying each day from not having enough money to live on. Tolbi was certainly not the shining star of ethics and compassion in the vast space of Angara. Regardless, the effort could not be forsaken. He rose back to his feet and stretched. "I'm going to try a couple more places before I go back to the bar."

"Is this another test of your faith in people?" Ivan asked. Isaac frowned slightly. As smart as Ivan was, sometimes he was a little too smart for his own good. Isaac didn't think of his job searching as testing his faith directly, but. . . perhaps in the deep depths of his mind it was.

"Perhaps." Was Isaac's only response before he walked off slowly. He shoved his hands into his pockets and decided to try the factory on 12th and Main once more.

**************************

It was closer to five-thirty at night before Isaac finally got back to the Tavern. He tossed his hat back on the hat rack and immediately sat down at the bar and put his head down. Again, another day of failure and rejection by just about every employer in town. He made no sound at all until Jenna brought him his usual cup of tea after a long day. The Venus Adept looked up to his friend and gave a weak smile. To Jenna's eyes, it was a condition she saw everyone in. . . from the customers that ventured in and out of the bar, to Isaac and Ivan, even to Garet and Felix. They all would look depressed, some kind of hurt in their eyes, bags under their eyes.

Isaac took his tea and sipped it carefully. "Thank you, Jenna."

"Don't mention it." She said. She decided to avoid talking about how his job hunt went. It was the same story every night, so there was no point in it. Isaac must've caught the thought she had in mind as he started speaking.

"It was the same as usual. No one wants to hire a Venus Adept or any kind of Adept for that matter." Isaac sighed, shaking his head. He and Jenna remained silent until he finished his tea when he rose and walked over to his piano. He stretched out his fingers and began playing soft and depressing tunes on his ivory keys. Eventually, Felix descended from above and pulled up a stool between the bar and the piano.

"Bad day, I'm guessing." He sighed.

"No worse than any of my others, no better." Isaac replied while still playing.

"I suppose it's been this way for all of us." Felix stated. "I'm sorry I can't do more for you, my friend." Isaac didn't reply, but Felix could tell that his friend didn't want to speak of it. Isaac was no doubt glad he was willing to help him, but he didn't want more. Another eerie silence settled in over the bar before the door swung open and two new strangers walked in. Felix quickly turned to greet potential new customers.

"Ah, early comers, huh? Well, all the same, thanks for dropping in! What can we get for you."

"A couple of beers." A man with blue hair and golden eyes replied. His friend had blue hair and blue eyes, and he seemed to resemble a tired and frustrated Isaac.

"Coming up." Felix replied, tapping them out quickly and handing the drinks to them.

"Thank you." The man with the golden eyes said, while his friend just nodded in gratitude. They sat at the bar and began to chat with Felix. "How is the business here, good sir?"

"All things considered, we do pretty well. Although I think we have a lot to thank our pianist for." He motioned to Isaac, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all. "And what business are you two gentlemen in, if you don't mind my asking."

"We're police officers." The man said. "My name's Picard, and this is my partner, Alex." Alex nodded in a semi-formal greeting as he continued drinking wordlessly.

"Ah, and I'm Felix, the owner of this tavern. And that is my little sister Jenna," he said, pointing to where she was busy scrubbing off a tabletop. She looked up and waved with a smile. "And that over there is Isaac, our piano player. Isaac! Say hello to Picard and Alex." The Venus Adept looked up from studying his music and greeted them with something not unlike Alex's silent regard. "My soon to be brother-in-law isn't around right now, and neither are our two other helpers." He said. "They should be getting in any time now. So, how goes the work of the police?"

"Well, I'm new, and this is only my first week. Alex has been around for a couple of months before me, so he'd the person to speak with. . . if he was a man of words, that is." Picard smiled. Alex sighed silently to himself. His partner was either a naïve idiot or he just liked trying to draw attention to him. In his own eyes, Alex thought Picard was a mix of the two, but yet he was the same kind of man the police force really needed, as much as he hated to admit it.

"Ah, Alex here sounds a lot like Isaac." Felix stated. Isaac and Alex exchanged a glance, and it took them less than an instant to realize that they were completely different people with completely different motives and drives. Isaac sensed a bitterness and a hatred within Alex, and Alex picked up the sense of being a loner and having distrust to most people from the pianist in the corner. "Got any requests for him? He'd be more than happy to play just about anything." Alex didn't show any interest, but Picard obviously seemed interested as he sat thinking before he turned to Isaac a moment later.

"Do you know Beethoven's Fuer Elise?" He asked. Isaac's eyes noticeably brightened.

"Yeah, I do." He said, almost smiling as he began playing. Picard's visage found itself sprouting a grin as the piano player performed the song flawlessly and still maintaining the emotion that its composer meant for it to have. Even Alex was silently impressed with Isaac's ability, but he found no need to speak up. He figured Isaac already knew he was good, so he didn't feel the need to say something that had been said a thousand times before. As Isaac finished, Picard found himself clapping fully.

"That is probably the best rendition I've ever heard." Picard said. "It's not often someone can play my favorite song with such skill."

"It's your favorite too, huh?" Isaac asked, sliding away from his piano. "It's nice to find someone else who has an ear for the classics."

"It seems like they are dying tunes in this day. I thank you, Isaac." Picard rose, putting his money for the drink on the bar counter while flipping Isaac two cents. "We'd better be going, Alex. Thank you for everything, Felix. We will remember this place." The other Mercury Adept nodded while putting his own money on the table in front of him. He too, flipped Isaac a coin, a rare gesture from the cold Alex. Picard and Alex quickly departed.

"Well, you meet more interesting people every day, wouldn't you say, Isaac?" Felix turned to him.

"You could say that." Isaac quietly replied, holding his three cents in his palm. "Are we expecting much of a crowd tonight, Felix?"

"It's a Sunday, and last night was a little slower than usual. I wouldn't doubt we could get busy." The elder man sighed. It was obvious in his facial expression that he didn't really desire the traffic, save for the capital it would bring them for their necessities. He looked noticeably tired to Isaac's keen eyes, but the reason as to why still eluded the younger man. "You'd best get some rest, Isaac. Who knows how much you'll have to do tonight." Isaac nodded and turned back to his piano and was about to play before Felix spoke again. "I told you to get some rest, not play the piano." Isaac turned around and locked his eyes onto his friend and said simply:

"This is how I rest."