A Cover Is Not the Book

[Winter]

He had to admire the resiliency of this place. Barnes & Noble had been surviving wave after wave of the corporate onslaught wrought upon them by that behemoth of capitalism that is Amazon.
Their work-force had shrunk, testament to the cutthroat logic of a competitive landscape such as retail, and of the disaffection of the public for literature in general.
That's to say they survived - who knows how much longer - but didn't thrive. It was both a blessing and a curse for the Guardians. It was a curse, because bookstore chains such as this tended to cater to occult weirdos, more often then not drowning their research in a shower of noise. That kept magic, the one with the capital M, away from the unworthy.
It was a curse because going forward it would be much harder to inundate the info-sphere with a deluge of fake news on both sides of the spectrum. People would either buy online, or shop at smaller, harder to monitor businesses, which not only made the job of the Guardians harder, but shifted the odds of bypassing the first layer of subterfuge in favor of the Sleepers. It was a blessing for the opportunity it offered, the sheer quantity of data and the increase in computational capabilities not only meant that they could create and spot trends before they even occurred, but that with the help of a bit of magic they could consistently shape the media, influence and then track people's purchases. The Seers could do the same though, so could the Libertines for the matter.

In the 21st century information was more worth than it had ever been, and the Guardians, like always, were the champions of this revolution. As befuddling as it might be however, digitization didn't subtract from the importance of HUMINT, if anything, it made the boots on the ground approach even more necessary.
And that's why, in the absence of a Cultor setting up shop in a Labyrinth, the Obrimos has to cover all the bases and - so to speak - is from time to time forced to stop by places like this.
An unshaven and rather inconspicuously dressed man, a plain white shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of blue jeans, makes his way to the occult section, right by the True Crime section of the store. All he has to do is check that there is no unsafe book on the shelves.

[Phoenyx]

Phoenyx stands over by the philosophy section, eyeing along modern takes of ethics in an increasingly information-driven world. Her talk with Shodan and Galatea was one of those That both made her sure she was right, but unsure of why. The only way to defeat an enemy was to know all about it and it's weak points - even if that enemy was a philosophical ideal.

Sure, philosophy doesn't quite work that that way, Phoenyx knew, but if Existence is War, and Philosophy is a thing within Existence, then Philosophy is also war. QED.

And so here she was, looking at books on Ethics and Information. She had a book on the Kabbalah, Nate Silver's "The Signal and the Noise", and, for some reason, one of Jim Butchers "Dresden Files" series, all bundled under one arm.

The Arrow was wearing her usual long leather trenchcoat that came just below her knees. Under that there were loose black training pants and plain red t-shirt.

Turning around, she spotted the familiar if gruff form of Winter stalking the shelves, and the new kid. Literally, the new Kid, she reminded herself. There probably wasn't that much difference between them, but she felt older. She walked over to the two of them. "Hi. What books are you after?"

Yep. Direct. Unsubtle. That's Phoenyx.

[Kaze]

Kaze enters the retail store with an easy smile. He liked people, and rarely got to go out and be around other book people, since he would usually just order through Amazon, but now that he's been studying subjects that he wants to read the latest books, he needs to check them out before buying, and the library tends to run a few years behind in having the latest books he wants to study.

He sees Phoenyx striking up a conversation with the New Kid and tries not to interrupt. He sees Winter and ignores the Sentinel completely, as he is sure Winter would prefer.

He heads for the science/medical section, taking the latest edition of Tactical Medicine off the shelf and scanning it, also looking around at the newest Alternative Medicine and occult books in the medicine section.

[Kaze]

Oops! Sorry, this isn't a shard, so puts me over the scene cap! Please ignore, until Body and Soul closes. IlI' post then.

[Winter]

He nods to the younger man, other than that, he doesn't say much. Rather, seeing that something is off, he decides to address the issue. The Guardian takes a book off the shelf, something about Alistair Crowley and stashes it behind two volumes, as to keep it hidden. When he's done, he replaces the now empty spot with another volume, one taken from the Mystery Murders section, something about Charles Manson and LaVeyan Satanism or bullshit like that.
Then he speaks, still looking at the bookcase, "You look like a cop", he says.
The exchange is cut brief by the firebird. The Guardian turns around and takes a good look. "Silver is good. A bit of a smartass, though"

[Phoenyx]

Phoenyx nods. "It was recommended to me as a work on probability and prediction of future events. It is relevant to my studies." The "of Fate" was implied, but saying that would be a surefire way of rattling the Guardian's chain.

She cocks her head. "Fairy tales?" The Arrow holds out the books. "I have an interest in mythology and spirituality. The Jewish Kabalah is just one way religious orders adopted or integrated pagan "magics" from their local areas into their faiths. Like how Orthodox western religions ingrained local legends and heroes into saints." It certainly sounded innocent enough.

She shrugs. "I'm not local. I don't know a lot about Law enforcement procedures. I supposes if you were an undercover officer, not looking like an officer would be the whole point." Phoenyx looks like the very image of indifference.

[Campanella]

Campanella stalks the stacks. A light coat dangles limply around his feet and he wares a scarf draped across his shoulders more for show than than for use. The Moros has been tracking down a some obscure volumes on art history, expanding his horizon into lesser known artists and genres.

He doesn't immediate notice the Awakened as they gather around Kid. It is only once the Hierarch has completed his purchases and moves away from the counter with a brown paper bag, that he espies the group.

"Well this is a surprise. A welcome one, I hope." Campanella speaks with a wry smile.

"Winter. Phoenyx." Campanella speaks very carefully and inclines his head gently.

"And... I don't believe we have met."