I sat with my back to the wall in the corner of the little twenty-four-hour café I’d found to kill time in for the night. I’d already cased the place inside and out, but it’s going to be a long time before I ever feel comfortable out in the open like this, if ever. All around me, people were going about their regular lives.

One couple was quietly arguing at the table a few rows from me; there was a homeless guy at the counter begging for leftovers or anything ...