Stan sat the living room of the small house, surrounded by a sea of boxes, packages, and bags.  There was a couch and loveseat and several end tables that weren’t placed anywhere appropriate, just where they’d fit.  This was it, another new beginning.  Hopefully the last one, at least for a long while.  In the past year, his life was chaotic at best.  He’d been let go from one department, then demoted and put to desk work at another.  Eventually he found out the cause:  his past.  It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, but it simply was.  And there was nothing he could do about it except move on.

He was bitter about it.  He enjoyed his job, the people, and the citizens he’d helped and now that was compromised unfairly.  Whoever had linked the information made sure it went to people with a lot of friends and people with the biggest mouths.  It worked.   

So he put in for a transfer for a federal job, partially out of frustration, and he was accepted.  It kind of surprised him as he was not expecting it, but it couldn’t have come at a better time.  Riding a desk while given no real responsibility and being looked at sideways by people who, the week before, were drinking buddies after work, it wasn’t a happy scene.  

He had to report in tomorrow and would spend the rest of the day and night unboxing and setting up, eating pizza and falling asleep.  He woke up and got dressed, deciding to grab food and an energy drink on the way in.  He hadn’t set up the kitchen and hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet, so it seemed a wise choice.  He drove himself downtown to the Agency building, parked and entered.  It was a nice building and the first floor had several doors and a moderate level of security.  

He went to the EMPLOYEE entrance, checked his personal weapon,  signed in and was escorted up to the third floor having been told he’d get his weapon back once he left the building since he wasn’t in the system and didn’t have identification granting access to the building.  

He was brought upstairs and left to his own devices after exiting the elevator.  He moved to the locker room for males, checking it out quickly.  He found his locker with his name stenciled in and nodded to a few people making their way in or leaving, not knowing who was who at the moment.  

He looked at his watch and realized he should go to the office area and see where he should be checking in.  He stepped out and made his way out, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself as he went.  “[b][color=0072bc]Let’s go do this I guess.[/color][/b]”