The day after tomorrow, this will all be over. He stood, still in body if not in mind. The wind that brushed past him seemed to pause, as if considering this new obstacle, before gathering the leaves that hunched against the curb and whirling them off in a wild reel. With his head tilted as if listening to a far-off conversation, he tried to pin down the source of his unease. Raising a hand in the dim twilight, he ignored the fine tremor that shook it and re-settled the case strapped across his back. Nerves, then, and nothing to do but move ahead with the plan.

Shaking free of the indecision that held him in check, he began walking again, a few slow strides that quickly lengthened into a semblance of purpose and certainty. He'd find a place to bunk down tonight. Tomorrow would be for scouting the site and the next day...well, that didn't bear thinking about right now - time enough for that later.

His gaze darted between parked cars, shadowed doorways and the empty street that stretched out ahead, never resting on one object, just looking for movement or motion in the falling evening. The sound of glass breaking je