Bryan opened a window in his cramped office. He could hear the bustling and smell the oil from the Chinese restaurant bellow his office. It was distracting...not that it mattered. He hadn't had a case in over a month. The world just didn't need the services of a PI as much as they used to. It wasn't like it was back in the old noir movies where a man like him would be swamped on cases he'd have to put on hold with a fabulously wealthy and deeply distraught woman would saunter into his office with wad of cash and a sob story.

He drops into the creaky office chair with a sigh. He'd thought being a PI would be a good way to root out trouble and help people after he lost his badge but with every tick of the clock he feels more and more like it was a money sink and his ma was right and he should have just gone back to college. Least then he'd have something to show for his work.

A soft creek cuts through the silence, the sound of someone coming up the stairs. He lifts his head a bit. Daring to hope that maybe it might finally be someone with a case for him.