The synchronous wall clock above the milk cooler clicked.
02:13:59 AM
One second remained before the two-fourteen audit minute.
Thomas Vance stood behind the hinged wooden counter flap of Register 1. His heavy work boots rested squarely on the black rubber anti-fatigue mat.
Thirty years of wandering in the dark rain had ended.
Beneath the linoleum, the copper ground bus surged with a low, clean hum. The counter sanctuary recognized the stamped paperwork. A pale blue corona rolled up from the floorboards, wrapping around Julian and his father like a warm wool blanket.
The nixie tubes above the cash register flared with emerald light.
[STAFF ROSTER UPDATED: VANCE, J. (#044) & VANCE, T. (#004)]
