Mending the Shadows
Duck asks Julie to hang back a bit when she makes her daily stop of arriving at his store when it opens, reading all of the new materials, then not paying for anything at all. In turn, she'd spotted him more than a few packs of naturally-rolled Native American-brand smokes during her time. If Duck were James Bond, she would be his MoneyPenny, with ever-present flirtation going on between the two since Duck had moved out to Seattle, likely never to be consummated in any way. Duck didn't like that he was so close to the young woman to begin with, and even though the two were only six years apart, he'd come to see her more as a sister over the years than someone he'd want romantic involvement with.
"Hoi, wanted to ask you if you knew about any off-grid docs that operate on awakened folks. My other job's got me investigating some leads, and, lo and behold, those leads take me right back to the runner community. Anyone you happen to know that would fit the M/O there?"