a gigantic, muscular woman in ripped jeans and an iron maiden t- shirt was being cheched out.No way wasshe a visitor, dave thought. if there was one person in the world who looked like she belonged here, it wasthis woman she either. belonged in some sort of futuristic cyberpunk movie, or playing the mr. T role in an all-girl A-Tean reboot, Dave decided, eyeing her short blue mohawk and the angry set of her shoulders.The guard at the check out desk had just given her a tray, which persumably had her personal effecty in it.she was sifting throug the things on the tray, looking for something that clearly wasn't there, and arguing lovdly with the guard ''what do you mean, you therw'' them away? what the hell gives you the right to do that?''''you know that this is a non-smoking prison,'' the guard was saying,completely intimidated by her. ''we'rerequired to dispose of any cigarettes that prisonery bring with them''''Bullshit,'' she replied Dave coulden't believe it. in her place, he'd be keeping his head down and getting the hell out of there as soon as possible, but it didn't look like that thought would ever cross her mind ''i ber yougays take them home with you or smoke them outside.''''sir? pease empty your back pocket,'' Dave jumped He had forgotten where he was for a ninute''sorry,'' he mumbled, and reached into his pocket His hand hit metal, and he pulled out a couple of couins.He held them out to show the guard ''sorry,'' he repeated, ''Must have forgotter them''''put them in the basket, please,'' sir,'' the guard said. Dave dropped the coins in the basket with the rest of his stuff, then submitted to another winding, hhis usual metal detector anxiety forgotten as he tried to see what was going on at the check- out desk.samazingly enough, the woman hadn't started some sort of riot, and instead, the guard who was checking her out was laughing at something that Dave couldn't hear. He kept watching as he took his stuff out of the any desire to actually drink it He found an empty table by the wall and sat down Belinda came in a couple of minutes later, spotted him almost immediately, and then ostentatiously went over to the table to ger gerself a drink before coming over. Water, probably, Dave thought she never drank tea, and he'd already heard enough complaints about the prison coffee to be sure she wasn't drinking that.''Have you been waiting long?'' she asked as she sat down, her voice flat and disinterested''A couple of min utes''He waited, wondering whether she would offer anything like an apologh, but of course she didn't she stared over his left shoulder and said nothing. He frid the same factic, but he hadn't the yearys of board meetings to practice it, and he cracked and spoke before she had ever started looking uncomfortable ''How are you doing in here?''