WHEN BOGART AND Jamison returned at 1:30 that afternoon, Decker had showered, shaved, and put on his other set of clothes: jeans, a flannel shirt under a sweater, and mud-stained boots on his feet.  He had some dress clothes that he had purchased back in Burlington when he was pretending to be a lawyer, but they were dirty and at the bottom of his duffel.

Bogart was in a crisp suit, starched dress shirt with a collar tab, and paisley tie.  Jamison was in slacks and jacket and a cream-colored shirt with what looked to be brand-new stylish strappy heels on her feet.  Compared to Decker's casual appearance, both looked ready to attend a wedding.  But this was the best he could do, and they both seemed to appreciate that he'd made the effort.

"Ready ?" said a smiling Bogart.

Decker nodded.  He was holding the binder, which he'd read and memorized.  As they walked to Bogart's car he felt his stomach start to squirm a bit.  Not from lack of food but from nerves.

The hitch with this whole arrangement was that Decker was not really comfortable dealing with other people.  His hyperthymesia caused him to be aloof, awkward, and out of sorts in the company of others.  He had no control over this.  His mind had bent his personality to its will.  It seemed strange to think about your brain as being separate from the rest of you, but with a mind like Decker's it just seemed like the realistic thing to do.

He had known that joining a "team" would require him to work with others, but now that the time was upon them, he was starting to question his decision to come here.

Have I just royally screwed myself?

He got into the front seat of Bogart's sedan and had to put it all the way back to accommodate his long legs.  He used the full length of the seat belt to stretch across his gut.  Jamison sat in the back behind Bogart, to give Decker as much room as possible.

"Can you tell me about the other team members?" asked Decker.  "Alex told me a little about Davenport."

"Lisa was brought on board because of her expertise dealing with psycho- and sociopaths.  She's very well known in her field and has written several books on the topic.  She'll be able to analyze for us the personalities and tendencies of people at the center of our investigations.  Telling us what makes them tick.  We have folks in the FBI who already do that, of course.  But I think it's a good idea to get fresh eyes on a case, outside the perspective of federal law enforcement."

"Sounds like a workable theory," noted Jamison.

"Then there's another FBI agent, Todd Milligan.  Todd's in his midthirties.  He's a good field agent who competed for a slot on this team.  He's excited to get started."