Travel was always an adventure for Rick, he liked to get away from his everyday life and see something new. Even, like this trip, when he was traveling for business he always made sure to take the time and explore the area. He was excited for this trip as it was the first time he had made it to the United Kingdom and knew there would be lots to do after his meetings.
The flight and cab ride from the airport had been uneventful and now that he stood in front of the hotel it was nearly 10pm, but the street was busy with tourists and everything was humming with life.
Rick breathed in the smell of the city and reached out with his mind to touch those around him. They were a mix of emotion, many happy, a few sad and a couple angry. He didn't use his power at home, he never wanted to draw attention to himself, so when he traveled he would 'stretch his legs' and explore more than just the physical world around him.
He walked in to the front lobby of the hotel, it was like many he had stayed in over the years on business. Not a marble and granite palace catering to the rich, but upscale and sophisticated none the less. There were a few people lounging by the bar but the front desk was devoid of anyone but the lone clerk sitting behind it. She looked to be in her early twenties and a little bored. A quick brush of her mind found her to be exactly as she appeared, a student working the night shift to pay for University, she'd been working at the hotel for two years.
He walked up to the counter and brought her out of her malaise as he introduced himself, he noticed her name tag as she looked up at him.
"Hi Molly, I'm Rick Mosley, I have a reservation for tonight?"
"Of course sir, let me take a look." She started typing away on her computer but the expression on her face turned from neutral to curious and finally confused in a matter of a few seconds.
"I... I'm sorry sir, I don't have a reservation for you."
"Really, here I have a confirmation number." He reached in to his laptop bag and pulled out the bundle of documentation the office had supplied him with. He found the reservation slip and handed it to her. Her expression moved from confusion to scared as soon as she saw what looked like a valid confirmation number.
Molly hurriedly typed in to the computer again, several times, before speaking.
"I see it in the system but for some reason it's not showing up as being valid. I don't know what to say, let me check to see if we have anything available..."
She went on typing in to her computer but didn't seem to be getting anywhere with it. Rick continued to feel the stress and fear coming off of her mind even without being directly in contact any more. In fact it was much more than really should have been expected for someone with her experience.
"I'm sorry Mr. Mosley, I don't have any rooms and I can't get the reservation code to be accepted."
Rick remained calm, it wasn't the first time a travel arrangement had gone wrong in his many trips. He also felt sorry for Molly, she seemed to be trying hard and he had a good vibe coming from her even through all the angst she was throwing out.
"Not to worry, is the manager on duty? Perhaps they can help."
Molly's face went pale, where as she was worried and nervous before, abject fear now emanated from her mind. Rick actually took a half step backwards as Molly reached for the phone.
"O...o...of course sir, let me ca..ca..call her." Molly spoke briefly on the phone and then hung up the receiver.
"She'll be right out."
Rick felt Molly's mind again and he could tell the manager was the source of her fear. He imagined she must be quite the dragon lady to instill the kind of dread Molly was feeling. He quickly pictured a stern, grey haired old woman wearing an impeccable suit striding out from the managers door.
To his surprise, when she emerged, she was only a couple of years older than Molly. But he had been right on the suit. She was perhaps 5"6' with shoulder length dirty blond hair and deep brown eyes. She carried herself like she was queen of the world and made a bee line for the reception desk.
"What seems to be the problem Molly?" It wasn't what she said that amazed Rick, but the way she had said it. A simple question that sounded both like an accusation and an insult at the same time.
"Mr. Mosley here has a confirmation number for his reservation but the computer won't bring it up and we don't have any more rooms left..."
Rick read her name tag, Katya, even though she didn't acknowledge his existence before physically pushing Molly out of her seat and sitting down herself. She rolled her eyes and started banging at the keyboard.
Katya closed her eyes for a moment before standing up from the desk and looking directly at Rick. He could feel the distain emanating from her mind, she clearly thought Molly should have been able to get rid of him herself and that was the only thing she was looking to do.
"Mr. Mosley? I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do. The system seems to have canceled your reservation a few days after you booked it and we have no rooms."
"Well these things happen Katya, can you see if you can find me another room nearby?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Mosley, company policy won't let me call another hotel to find available rooms."
Rick could feel the lie coming off of her, he reached in to her mind a little deeper than normal to explore her.
"Really, well it's after 10pm and I don't have anywhere to stay. My company uses your chain all the time for business, can't you just bend the rules a bit and help out? I could tip you well."
"I'm sorry, I just can't help. If you want to call the customer service center tomorr..."
Rick could see now that Katya was not going to help at all, in fact moving through her mind he found a ferocious competitive streak and a strong self-belief that she was above all of the people around her. She had backstabbed her way to the nightshift manager's position so she could pursue her master's degree while she worked and still get paid.
"Excuse me ma'am, is something wrong?" Molly said as Katya simply stood frozen in place, mid-sentence.
"Oh, sorry about that Molly, I almost forgot you were there.
Katya is a little distracted at the moment, tell me something, why do you fear her so much?"
Molly answered quickly and truthfully, more so than she intended, "She's a complete bitch! She spends all her time studying in her office but if she catches me doing it she yells at me! She even put an official note on my file about it so now she can get me fired anytime she wants to."
"Wow, she really is a piece of work. You seem nice enough Molly and I don't think you deserve to put up with such a bad boss, why don't I take her off your hands?"
"W...wh...what do you mean?"
"Well as you might have noticed I have the ability to read and control minds. Normally I keep it simple, but Katya there looks to be in need of a major attitude adjustment. Since I'm not going to be sleeping in my nice comfortable hotel room I might as well have some fun tonight instead."
"Ok..."