My eyes locked onto his. With just visual input I could tell he wasn’t surprised at all. There was no reason to believe he could see what I can do. If he did see what I could do, then it didn’t matter what I was going to do in the next minute.

Sarah pulled away from me and looked over her shoulder to the man. “Sarah, do you know this man?” My hand stayed on her back; I pulled her closer trying to display protection. My tendrils sped up the pulsing in her pattern. Tightened muscles ever so slightly.

She was on High alert in an instant. “Excuse me, can we help you?” she stepped forward pushing me away. I suppressed a smile as she came to my defence.

“Sorry no. I was curious as I passed by.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked on his way like nothing happened. I took Sarah by her arm before she could rush after him.

“Maybe don’t jump on every person that thinks strangely. You already have me.” I saw the effect I had on her. The tense shoulders and the paranoia, she was mistaking my ministrations as a gut feeling.

“Something tells me that man is not good.” She stepped out pulling me along. “How would you know? We barely spoke. Maybe he just wants a painting of himself?” I took a step outside and looked around.

The elevators were not running. He either has a room here or he took the stairs. I knew almost everyone in the building. I would have to check if Agnes had a written record of everyone in the building.

I turned back to Sarah and calmed her down again. “Let us put this behind us. He is just a random man. Go talk to Ethan and we will meet up next week. I will let Frank know about that guy.” I would have to speed up my ministrations with frank as well if I wanted the outsider apprehended in timely fashion.

“Call me as soon as you need anything.” Sarah hugged me one last time, one last time I snaked my fingers onto her spine and pulled on the fibres of her being. She would not feel better, and I could see her thoughts focusing on the man in glasses as the source of her unease.

“I will call as soon as anything stranger happens.” I squeezed her shoulder as we separated. “Now go and meet the other people that need your help as much as I do.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. She quickly checked her watch before shooting out the door. “Call me!” She shouted one more time. I couldn’t see what went through her mind from so far away, but something else flashed through her thoughts.

Frankie Lawson was the son of a law man, as he would tell everyone. I was sure to dress appropriately when I got ready for our weekly stake out. It was a routine we started when I joined him three weeks after I moved in. I would wear a white button up shirt with a black trench coat. Black shoes that were specifically not shiny with black chinos.

The average man blends in the best.

The truth was no one gave a shit about any of it. Society has grown so large that people have adapted to not get attached to anything about anyone they don’t know. If it slows down the morning commute it needs to be ignored. Meetings to be had and people to see.

I was downstairs by 6pm sharp. Reusable coffee cup at the ready and in the corner of the lobby. With a short whistle I had Frankie looking over his shoulder. Hegave me his customary wink before looking back to the front. He loved the idea of being a secret agent, a big dream he never let go of. I could see he was always making notes on everyone, always thinking he will spot the villain before anyone else. He was certainly a wealth of information on who or what came in the building.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

As Frankie looked around, pretending to be inconspicuous. Drawing attention himself as he usually does. He turned around and casually as possible for a person like Frankie locked the door open and strutted inside.

Norman in the opposite corner gave a rare chuckle as he emptied the trashcan. I smiled into my cup trying to cover up the coy smile from my own lips. Frankie took his cap off, Hung it on the hook behind the reception desk. Then sweeping his head around one more time across the lobby before he took off his concierge jacket and hung it next to his hat.

He slipped on his black jacket, grabbed his matching coffee mug and sauntered over. slowly sitting down like an old man after a long day, He relaxed back and brought the mug to his lips. “Martin.” He greeted as usual.

“Frank.” I greeted him back my eyes cast foreword to the front door, my mug still covering my mouth. “Any events on tonight, Frank?” I glanced to the left my focus on his mind. I saw notes he took. The faces he checked all day. He saw 9 people with glasses. 5 with sweaters. None of two categories had anything overlapping. The most notable person was Agnes with her pink coat and black cat in hand.

“We have a party on the 6th floor. It’s Daphne’s dogs party this time.” I pushed out a chuckle and looked ahead. It was no surprise Daphne had another party. She was my main source of income. With her collection of my paintings of her. She was also the reason most of my client’s knew about me.

“Any chance one of her people came in early? A man in a black sweater with glasses?” I glanced again at his mind. No flashes of insight or remembrance.

“Any more details than that?” Frankie took out his small notebook. He flipped through it.

I thought about what I saw 2 hours prior. My mind stuttered to a halt.

No other clues.

He had glasses.

He had a sweater. Was it even black?

“Arrogant? We briefly talked; He creeped out Sarah as he looked into my appartement.” I pulled up the memory into focus in my mind. The man was dead centre. Glasses and sweater. On top of cloud of uncertainty. His face was someone you just couldn’t make out in the distance.

The pages flipping drew my attention. I looked over at Frankie again. He shook his head as he went through his physical notes. “Got a man in a green sweater with thin glasses come in 2 days ago.”

He flipped to the back and took out his pen. “I’ll pay special attention to anyone like that.” He wrote it down, repeated the description in his head 10 times and repeated the letters s g twenty times after that. I was frowning as I sat back. My eyes glued to the front door. This was man was starting to get more than just interesting.

If he could see what I really do, he must have something of his own. Why was I not concerned. This unknown in my life, this person. He could be unmaking all my progress as I sit here and talk to this old decrepit man. I was so close to making it past animal trials. He made me use Sarah, the queen piece of my life. A move that should have made me more cautious.

I would have to take it slow. He needs me to make a mistake. I’ll perfect my memory transplant first on Cath. Then I’ll move on to human trials.

“Keep an eye out Frank, I’ll get us some coffee.” Took his cup from his hands and slipped into the staff room near the reception. Instant coffee wasn’t the best, but it would do. I was back within two minutes. As I handed the mug back to Frankie I could feel and see the proudness lighting him up like a Christmas tree.

“Let me guess.” I dove into his memories. From his point of view, I could see his eyes scanning the room. He could feel how his attention would slide away from the staircase door. His habits and his practise at memorising people had him focus as hard as he could.

Then out of nowhere in popped the mysterious man. It was blue sweater, he had square

Glasses. His shoes were black. The details were scarce. Fading quick, I’m sure if Frankie wasn’t practicing memory tricks, he would have forgotten it by now.

“Our mystery man was here?” I said with a grin. “Any details I missed?” His smile slipped and he scratched his head. “He had black Shoes.” I smile and sit next to him. “Must be a trained spy, slipping your attention must have been taken more skill otherwise.” I said jokingly.

His brows furrowed as he tried to remember more. He took out his notebook and added the detail below glasses and sweater. “He gave me the slip that’s for sure.” He took a sip of his coffee and looked to the entrance. His worries ever so slowly faded, the memories degrading in his head faster and faster. I made sure to check my own memories.

It was without a doubt something that was out of the ordinary. I set up a simple loop in my pattern. A back up of the memory every minute. Should make it easier to remember this man.