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Anthony, dismayed, looked up from the pitifully ruined books to notice that a couple curious students were looking on at the exchange. One he hadn't seen before, who had probably come in while he was in the middle of having his heart break at the sight of the book, the other the girl who had come in earlier and got right to work. He fixed his green eyes on Ray again, frowning deeply.

"Be that as it may," he replied, listening to the other's apology and his assertion of respect to the author. He had seen similar tactics, either truthful or just efforts to avoid a fine, from other patrons but his answer was always the same. He couldn't factor in how much they loved the book, how much of an accident it was (unless the circumstances were particularly unique and the patron really was faultless), he could not waive the fine. Or was that would not?

At the moment they felt like one and the same.

"The library's policy is to charge a fixed replacement fee for any lost, stolen, or damaged books. And this book is more than damaged." He refrained of waxing poetic about the book's apparent death, trying to stick to the facts, "The fine can be charged to your account to be paid later, or you can pay it here, now."

Typing at the computer quickly, he let the system know that the book was back, changing it's status from Checked Out to Mending. He would have to remove it from the system for a little while if they really couldn't save it, which he imagined would be the case.

"It's a forty five dollar replacement fee for that particular volume."

Ray made a face when the fee was named. It wasn't a happy face. It was more of a, but whyyyy do they have to put puppies down at the pound, Mommy? face and he apparently had no shame about making it at Anthony at just this moment. He looked to be under thirty and was wearing a white button-down shirt with a green tie decorated with question marks, like the Riddler worked at Dunder Mifflin. He leaned on the desk with one hand and gave the librarian that shot-through-the-heart-and-you're-to-blame look with a pair of very blue eyes.

"Forty-five dollars," he repeated. "Forty-five dollars."

When Tony didn't budge he sighed, dug out his wallet, which was a worn brown leather piece, and busied himself looking through it. "All right," he said. "Sorry for making a fuss. What's your name, anyway? Come in here all the time," he motioned, "reckon I should get to know who works here a little better. So far I had you in my head as Evil Twin Librarian. That's on account of you look kind of like an evil twin. But that's not very nice of me, and would be kind of like if someone went to my school and referred to me as Clark Kent Teacher. So hi. I'm Ray."

Delphine Amary was lost.

The librarian had sent her on a wild goose chase, and she was not amused. She was staring at a particularly large column of books, all of which were big enough to kill her if the shelf somehow toppled over. Delphine had stopped looking at this point, and rather, was staring at the rows upon rows of books as if that would magic the ones she wanted to her. Use the force. Yeah, the force wasn't on her side today. If it had been on her side, she wouldn't have had to come to the library to begin with.

What section was she even in? When the library gave her the slip of paper with the book numbers, he should have sent her a map, some ******** floor plans for the place. This was ridiculous. Reaching out, she picked a random book out of the thousands, looking at it with dismay. This really was like finding a needle in the haystack. Maybe she was looking in the wrong haystack entirely.

Groaning, she shoved the book back into place. The fit was a little tight, and the book stuck out a little... so it was more appropriate to say that she jammed the book back into its spot. At least she hadn't moved it own a row or two? Delphine was at her kindest, really. She got the impression she was in the wrong area completely, and moved on to the next. It was too early in the morning for this s**t. It was a goddamn weekend, for crying out loud!

Oh, Mr. Librarian... When she got down there, he was going to have to find her these books, because this was ridiculous. This was not how Delphine was going to spend her day. With a frustrated sigh, she crumpled the piece of paper in her hand and turned around to head back down the stairs.

Really, she had hardly given searching a chance before giving up. But, if she could get someone else to do it for her, she would. Anthony would probably know what she wanted the moment he saw her walking down the stairs with no books in hand.

Jada had been shelving books in the back of the library, her dark curls pulled up in a high ponytail, pushing along the slightly squeaky silver cart in front of her. Load after load had been placed on the shelves, the product of too many students with their overdue books returning things in a hurry. Then she'd gotten sidetracked in the fiction area, poring over some romance novels. Now her book selection was piled on the silver cart as she found her way to the front desk, pushing it behind the counter. "Are you robbing the kids again?" she gave her supervisor a small playful scowl, running purple eyes over the small collection of people, to see who needed assistance.

There was a- oh, hell. She recognized that little boy. The older man not so much. Coming in at the tail end of the conversation, she pondered the thought that he could be the dark-haired boy's father. If that were the case, she'd definitely need to suggest he give the kid a sense of self-preservation for Christmas.

Jada pulled off her selection of books from the cart, stacking them up to the side, titles where they could be clearly read. Love Wild and Free. Dark Possession. The Bride and the Beast. Tall, Dark, and Lethal. The Viking's Forbidden Love-Slave? Where the Sidewalk Ends. Which one didn't fit? She set them up in her little reading corner with the same love she showed to the older books of poetry, or the old copy of Dracula that she'd officially unofficially stolen from the library and kept jealously under the counter.

That was when she saw it. The microwaved book. "T-Tony?" Her voice was thin, breathless, and she reached out for the book. "What happened to this?" Which meant, 'Who do I need to kill, and can I use the back room for it?' She glanced up at the patron having a conversation with her supervisor, realizing she was being rude, and backed off, the damaged book clutched protectively to her breast.

Tony was beginning to think things were getting out of hand.

He nodded when Ray introduced Azzo, waving at the boy. He let the teacher, as he had come to understand was his job since he referred to the boy as 'my student', explain why he had to pay the fine. Hit it right on the head, really, Tony thought. The library overcharged for missing or damaged books because it was a deterrent to do it again, and an example to others. It did tie in to replacement costs, and to the late fees that would have been incurred had the book been missing and not damaged, but mostly it was a clear warning.

Late books that stayed out for two a month over its due date were switched from an accumulating fine of fifty cents a day to the heavier Missing fee. Emails and letters are sent out after that, until the book makes its way back or they finally just charge the credit card of the culprit directly.

Tony rubbed his chin one instinct, fingers playing over his goatee thoughtfully. Maybe he did look like the evil twin, despite his demure-

"You microwaved it?!"

That had taken a moment to sink in. Multiple things were distracting him. Like catching sight of the angry girl from before, Daphine, who had no books in her arms and a very cross expression that he knew was just for him. Then there was Jada, whose gasp of a reaction to the book did not surprise the librarian. He knew she was as careful with them as he was, and loved books, in general, as dearly as some people did animals.

"Oh, Jada, it's okay. Ah, we'll sort that in a... Prison Break?" Captain Very Short Attention Span looked back at Ray. He shook his head, oblivious to the reference, "I don't mind Tony. I've been here... going on eleven years now."

Good God, that long?

He took the card and quickly used it to remove the fine from Ray's account, sighing. He looked at the book. Technically it wasn't there's now, as a ruined book was treated much like a lost one. It no longer existed. Though Tony had listed the book as Mending he knew for certain they would not be able to restore it to a usable condition for library purposes. Home use might be a better life for it, but he eyed the man who had just paid for it. Could he really be trusted with it, after apparently dropping it in a sink and then sticking it in a microwave, of all things?

He hoped this man didn't have any pets.

"Jada, Mr. Gordon here can take that book if he likes," he spoke to both of them, hoping they didn't fight over it. Or if they did they left him out of it, "I'm going to remove it from the computer when I have a minute."

Jada stared at the younger of the adults for a long minute. "You microwaved it? You microwaved Darconville's Cat? Why would you microwave any book?!" her anguished cry fell from her lips at almost the same moment as Tony's. "There are so many other ways you can dry out a book besides trying to set it on fire!" She bit her lip, for one long moment looking like she was torn between hysteria and crying, fingers tracing the book like she was holding a gift from a lover.

"Do I have to let him have it?" she scowled at the stranger, glancing at his name on the screen. Ray Gordon. "I'll be happy to..." To beat him with the book? That was what her face was saying, anyhow, and she wasn't bothering to hide that it was an option being considered. In the end, however, her lips said something sweeter than her expression. Sort of. "To... Oh, do I really have to let him have it?" He obviously couldn't be trusted with it.

Beating him was still an option, if it weren't for lawsuits. Not to mention this was a public location, and there were witnesses.

Ray Gordon, whoever he was, was probably one of those people who folded the pages down, or deliberately cracked the spines of their books.

Which obviously meant this man? Was on her List. What the List was didn't matter. Even she didn't keep track of her list on a day to day basis.

Tony frowned at Jada, shaking his head slowly, but sternly. He heard Azzo talking about manhandling books, as well, which just made him more stern.

"You really have to let him have it," his tone was a little chastising, for the way she had exploded at a patron. He knew she was young, of course, but she had been here long enough to know that the 'customer' was always right. And when they weren't, they got fined. But they were still meant to be treated with respect.

She would have to sit through that lecture another time, however.

Glancing at Ray when he spoke, he saw the man wink at him and felt himself blush inexplicably. "I'm not shy," he insisted shyly, looking down at the desk rather than making eye contact, "I'm afraid things are getting just a little bit out of hand. Jada, please return the book to Mr. Gordon, if he would like to keep it. As he said, we can't do anything with it to make it sturdy enough to be checked out."

Finally he looked at Ray again, "I'm afraid I can't remove the fee, but you are cleared of any holds, and the book is yours to do with as you want. Though, hopefully no more baths with dishes for it, and subsequent trips to the microwave."