Summary:Hunter's Gift/Chapter 1/Scene 5

Leslie's boss, Becker, calls her into his office. She's startled; knows she should have been working but keeps imagining fire. First hint of her phobia.

Leslie is worried she might be fired. She's been working here two months, which means the honeymoon period is over and she's expected to know all the rules.

Becker says that two police officers came in that morning, and were asking about Leslie. She says she has no idea why. The police have a file on her an inch thick, but he didn't see what was in it. He's suspicious, and wants to know if she's got a criminal record she's been lying about.

Leslie is very defensive. Says she's not a criminal and then panics and tells him to stay out of her business, angry and scared. Becker is taken aback, but unexpectedly reasonable. He says he'll be asking for a background check to confirm that she's being honest, but aside from criminal activity he just wants to know she's not going to have a breakdown or something in work.

Leslie says that she doesn't even remember most of what's behind her problems, just that she has nightmares about fire and hearing that she'd been so close. She's not sure if Becker is going to have a problem with her going out drinking the night before work, or if he's trying to be sympathetic. He offers her a day off, but she's not sure if it's a trap, so says she feels she should go back to work to take her mind off it.

Leslie returns to work. It seems she's got a backlog of work. She doesn't like this part of the job, when it's just her and her computer. There's some details about her job here.