Lonely Thieves

Act IV, Part VII

Norah's Side (April 13, 9:30 pm)

Norah walked down the darkened streets of the Morning Star district, shivering as the night wind blew through the roads. The streets were not as packed as they were during the day, but there were still plenty of people wandering the streets. The sight of Twilight police officers patrolling the area for the original Night Hunter was also common.

As she continued to stroll the streets, Norah's mind wandered back to her conversation with Carol. Going back to the force was something that she believed she would never consider again, yet she couldn't get the thought out of her head.

How many years had it been since she first joined the force? Too many to remember off the top of her head. She was young and optimistic then, and she had a true desire to mete out justice. Nowadays, she'd do anything for some money, even things she used to arrest others for.

Not that she thought that her changing was bad. She was too naive then, and she knew much more of the world now. Still, she couldn't help feeling like she had lost a part of herself she was supposed to hold precious. Her parents had been so proud when she got her first promotion. She wondered what they'd thought of her now.

As the continued down the street, she suddenly heard the sound of something moving swiftly through the sky. She looked up and caught sight of someone jumping from roof to roof. His face was obscured by the darkness of night, but Norah knew that there could only be one or two people that would be running around the rooftops at night.

Norah ran after the blur, trying desperately to keep up with who she hoped was the original Night Hunter. She had no real evidence, but Norah was certain that if she could catch up with him, she could finally get somewhere. Anything that could break this case for her and finally push things to her advantage.

Regardless of whether or not she was right, it was clear that the original Night Hunter had no plans of being caught for any reason. He was already far ahead of her, but he had to have been using implants to boost his speed and agility. Norah started sprinting as she tried to keep pace, but soon enough the blur dropped out of sight, disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.

Coming to a stop, Norah braced herself against a building as she tried to catch her breath. That was her last chance for a clue, and she let it get away like it was nothing. She felt like she was about to tear up, but she wouldn't let herself. If she broke down crying, she probably wouldn't be able to keep going.

She rubbed her eyes and looked around for a street sign. She was better off going back to her hotel room and getting some rest. She had been out all day, and it was late. She was better off getting some rest for tomorrow.

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Norah's first stop after waking up in the morning was to the sweeper's hideout. By this point, she'd become a regular, and bouncer let her in without even a glance in her direction. Maize was eating a simple breakfast of toast and eggs at the bar counter when she noticed Norah sit up beside her.

"We're not open, ma'am," Maize said coyly. "Come back later if you want a drink."

"Not funny. What's the plan?"

"A simple one." Robert walked behind the counter with a dustcloth in his hands. "We did some extra canvassing last night and found out from some reliable sources that Megumi and one other person were seeing entering the Florencia building earlier."

"The Florencia building? You mean that massive building near city hall?"

"Yeah. I didn't expect it either. It's not exactly a place you can just walk into."

"What exactly is the Florencia building?" Norah wondered aloud. "It's been around for so long, but somehow no one knows anything about it."

"It's a mystery to me too," Rob sighed. "The place is staffed with people, so it's not abandoned, but whether it's the media, government workers, or rowdy journalists, no one has been able to find out exactly what the building's purpose is. The staffers don't talk no matter what, and security is so tight that sneaking in is impossible."

"That doesn't matter, though, does it?" Maize pointed. "All that matters is that our target is in there."

"So what do we do? Break in ourselves?"

"That's pointless," David remarked as he came down from the stairs. "As Rob said, many people have tried to break into that building before, including some of the most skilled burglars in the game, and they've all failed. The security team in there must be top notch, despite not being involved with any of the Three Great Families."

"That's a pain. What are we going to do then?"

"Well, all we have to do is think about it," Robert explaned. "I doubt she'll stay there long, which means she'll have to leave the building at some point."

"I see," David murmured. "She only has a few places where she can exit the building from. If we wait for her to come out, we can get her then, right?"

"But what if she's already left?" Norah asked. "If she left last night, that plan is already dead in the water."

"Don't be silly," Maize remarked slyly. "Of course we've already accounted for that. I've hacked into the security cameras around that area and have been monitoring them carefully. I can confidently say that I didn't see Megumi leave the building at all."

"Just because you didn't see her doesn't mean that she didn't leave."

Maize grumbled irritably while Robert let out a tired sigh. He pulled out a roll of paper from his back pocket and laid it out on the counter. "Enough of that. Here's a map of the area around city hall."

"A physical map? Did you draw this or something?"

"It's a printout. Anyway, look here." Robert pointed to a building in the center of the map. "This is the Florencia building."

He then pointed to four different locations that were close to the massive skyscraper. "And these are the places where we'll be hiding in wait."

"Will that be enough?" Norah asked doubtfully. "Kind of seems like we're all leaving it up to chance."

"Can't do anything about that," Robert replied. "This is the best chance we have of catching her. You in?"

Norah was still uncertain, but she nodded regardless. "When are we going?"

"Right now. She hasn't left yet, but the earlier we assume our positions the better. Are you ready?"

"Any time."

Robert nodded, then gestured to David and Maize to get ready to head out. While waiting for them, Norah tried to calm that feeling of unease bubbling in her chest. If all things went well, she'd confront Megumi soon. Where she would go from there would surely come to her once she got to that point.