beat_scene: outdoor_open, indoor_desk anchor: Clark The second reading is where panic lives. Clark Edwards, back porch, June coming in hot and still. He reads a news item - a Dallas firm sold to a holding company - and sets it face-down. He does not read it a second time. He recognized the consultant. Cynthia's consultant, who sat in the corner of the Marfa office on a Tuesday in April and drew boxes on a legal pad that weren't notes. Clark has a position on what's happening. He hasn't said it yet. A position said too early becomes a stance. A stance is something you can be argued out of. A plan is something you build until it's load-bearing. He needs the week. Featured: Clark Edwards, principal. The Marfa Mavericks is a daily fiction podcast about a creative agency in West Texas. New episodes every morning. Listen in order or do not. Follow the world at @marfamavericks on Instagram, TikTok, X, Threads, and Bluesky. . . . | ai-assisted fiction