[ WP ] `` Your card has been rejected . ''

`` Your card has been rejected.'' Well, that was that. You spent a whole year chasing after that one thing you always wanted. Well, at least you know better now. Probably. Standing there, red faced as the cashier hands you your card back, you shove it back to your wallet and scurry out of the store without a word. 
 
 *I hate that damn frenchman! * You scream within your mind. *Adventure of a lifetime my ass. * Rage boils out from every pore, yet you maintain your composure enough to walk onto the street and hail a taxi. A gypsy pulls up and you enter, forgetting yet again that you have absolutely no money left. You mumble an apology and exit back to the sidewalk. *Well, shit. Those assholes are probably still laughing their asses off in that damn temple. * 
 
 You remember the story clearly, the finer points crystallizing as you seethe with contempt and regret on the side of the street. You were heading home from your cushy accounting job. A man dressed all in white -- hat, shoes, tie, coat, everything -- stands still in the middle of the sidewalk ahead of you, but you fail to notice before your forehead collides with his chest. The man was huge, 6-foot-9 if he was an inch, and wide enough to make a quick sidestep impossible. No, he was a wall of a man. No getting around that. You looked up and saw his face. Scars and ink all over, yet his steely blue eyes still seemed so friendly. He started talking, and you just could n't stop listening. 
 
 Next thing you knew you were on a private plane headed for god knows where with the most motley crew imaginable. You swear you remember that six year old with the sword doing cartwheels down the aisle. But then again you, being the effete fool that you are, decided to help yourself through the flight by drinking half a bottle of champagne before takeoff, so that one's a little hazy. 
 
 For some reason Mr. Whitehat singled you out. You can figure it out now, but back then it hardly seemed clear. You were sure you had some unbeknownst-to-only-you treasure hunting heritage or some cliche shit like that, god help you. No, turns out that weird band of carnival performers just wanted a free trip to the tropics. Lucky they found you, really. That blue-eyed man sure knew how to pick'em. You were *just* unhappy enough to want out from your day job. You were *just* narcissistic enough to believe all that `` it could only be you'' bullshit. And you were *just* rich enough to pay for a year long trip to a pacific island for some rogue circus crawlers. And now you got jack-shit left to show for any of it. God. You're an idiot, you know that?
