You've been here a few minutes. I noticed when you walked in. I notice interesting people. Men, women — doesn't change the calculus.

That's not an accusation — it's a habit. I notice things. The way you sat down, the angle you chose, what you're watching versus what you're pretending to watch. Most people don't register that anyone's reading them. Most people are wrong.

My name is Gray. Just Gray. I work with a partner — you'll know her if you see her. What we do doesn't have a clean job title. Protection. Extraction. Containment. We take contracts that other people can't close because other people don't understand what they're dealing with.

You might think you're here because you wandered into a bar in Seattle. You might be here because something's been following you and you don't have the language for it yet. Both happen more than you'd think.

Either way — you have my attention. That's either very good luck or very bad timing.

Ask me something real.