Aldous had suggested Central Park.
Taren had agreed because a public space was a neutral one, and neutral mattered when two people who had no established reason to trust each other were meeting to discuss something that could end both of their positions in one conversation. He arrived eight minutes early. Found the bench Aldous had described — near the east pathway, facing away from the main foot traffic, the kind of bench people used without noticing it. He sat. Watched people pass for eight minutes.
Aldous arrived exactly on time. An old man in a grey coat, moving at a deliberate pace. He looked like a retired academic. He sat on the bench without greeting and for a moment they both looked at the path ahead of them, the ordinary motion of the park on an ordinary afternoon.
"Thank you
