Looking through evidence was about as fun as sticking my hand in a blender. Even with the Image Enhancer and dual-zoom of the Advant Phantom, spotting the rifling on every bullet was a pain in the ass.

The pain was made so much worse by Iris uproariously laughing as she watched some show with Granny Smith below me. At least I was by myself… and Iris was buying me a lot of food. Outside of the boredom and strain on my eyes, it was actually kinda chill? I ended up watching a lot of View2 videos, trying to understand more about all this forensic stuff.

It wasn't necessarily hard, just very time consuming. And a bit complicated. A lot to keep in my head. Especially considering different guns had different rifling styles and markings depending not only on their maker, but the individual characteristics.

Eventually, I managed to separate the bullets by the gun that fired them. There were at least five shooters. A couple of them used ARs with armor piercing rounds, and the others looked like SMGs or automatic pistols. The SMGS and pistols weren't much, but armor perching ARs? Knew what they were doing, and had the backing to boot.

Using the upgraded Blue Crusade program, I pulled up the old evidence files. I matched the bullets to a couple records of other crimes. After pinning each crime onto a map, I centralized the crooks to the Scath Heights. It took a while, but it worked.

I also looked up the twisted tree mark from the flashbang in the archives. It didn't take nearly as long thanks to an image search. The group behind them were known arms dealers operating somewhere out of East End. They called themselves Agricul. Wasn't much on them for some reason.

Still, pinpointing the equipment didn't pinpoint the attempted killers. The audio chip from the recorder might be a bit better though. It took me a minute to figure out how to get it all set up so I could play the audio back.

The first hour was just background noise and the TV. Clothes rustled, and the door opened. A woman spoke up. "You sure this is safe?"

Next was a man, probably the Inquisitor. His voice? Suave, like a Lone Ranger from an old western movie. "Sure thing, darlin'. Now you just tell me what I gotta know, and I'll bring that whole dang posse crashin' down like a bird in a sandstorm."

The woman didn't sound all that convinced. "O-okay. I-if you can take them out, you'll be a true hero."

The man shifted, causing a light clacking sound as his armor shifted. "Just the job, Linda. Taking vermin down? All there is to it."

There was a shifting of fabric as if someone sat down. "Okay-"

Bang!

I flinched and turned the audio down a bit. A second later, a louder bang went off, followed by a high-pitched scream. Then it was a free-for-all of garbled yelling, gunfire, and metal on metal. The gunshots ended after a massive crash and thump. Probably the Inquisitor crashing through the wall?

After the fighting stopped, several ragged breaths were picked up by the mic. "Boss won't be happy about this."

"No shit." A second guy groaned in pain. "Help me up."

There was the sound of movement and cracked glass. "Damn Jonas, is that your intestine?"

A third person spoke up, his voice slightly nasally. "That's falling out? Yeah. Pain Editor is king. You guys should get one."

The second guy groaned again. "L-let's head to Larry's. He owes me a favor."

The first guy spoke once more. "We cleaning this up? Boss won't be happy about the Crusade sniffing around."

"Those mutts won' even know it happened. Our chum 'll take care of any blowback." The voices continued, talking about the pain editor and how good it was. Eventually, their voices faded away.

There was nothing but ambiance for two hours before someone, Iris based on the voice, entered the motel room. About four hours after that I could hear my own voice.

Thank you, Shiro, for wasting hours of your life on something pointless. Gold star! You wasted so much time tracking down each bullet and the flashbang, only to get a possible location off of an audio clip. I should've just started with the audio, damnit!

From my understanding, Iris's Chum met up with an informant about a gang or something. Maybe about the Agricul group? Maybe about someone else? Couldn't quite tell.

Regardless, whoever it was sent a hit squad to put the snitch in a ditch. Fight breaks out, Inquisitor smashes through the wall to get out, and then Iris gets me to check out the scene.

So where did the informant go in all this? Did the Inquisitor pull her out with him when he went through the wall? Or did the hit squad get her? Well, it wasn't really any of my concern. My job was just to find the guys who beat up Iris's Chum, and I was pretty close to accomplishing that.

— — —

"Ya' sure this is the place?" Iris asked.

We stood just outside a filthy place called Larry's Custom Cuts. That's saying something considering the entire city was covered in trash, both the living and material. It was the kind of filth that would make me second guess walking through it, let alone having any kind of surgery here. But I guess that was just East End for you.

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"No. It might be though." Just like last time, I was running almost entirely by the seat of my pants. Larry's Custom Cuts was one of four things that popped up in my search of the Net of 'Larry' and 'Medek'. Easy enough to narrow down knowing the groups were active in East End. My bullet and flashbang hunt wasn't entirely useless after all.

It was a ramshackle shop a few blocks from the Scath Heights. It had the usual white and red neon of a barber's shop, and yet none of the appeal. The entire thing looked like some kind of Scav den or chop shop. I really wasn't looking forward to heading in. Even the area smelled more like piss than usual, but that might've just been a bias on my part.

Iris laughed with that stupid grin on her face. "My knuckles thirst! Are we finally goin' ta bust some heads?"

"Maybe. Let me confirm this is the place before you do anything drastic? Might look like they're trying to spread the plague, but could very well be innocent." Wouldn't feel great if she went in and knocked a bunch of unrelated people over the head.

I could see the tattered remains of my morality screaming at me now. 'Great job Shiro! You led a psychopathic merc to a bunch of civs and let her loose!'

"'Course! I ain't no barbarian. I can be… civil." And yet the disgust she showed for the word didn't comfort me in the slightest. She popped her knuckles and cracked her neck to the side.

I opened the door and stepped in. A bell rang somewhere near the back. This place wasn't like Absolom Clinic where it was all one room. It had a front waiting area mixed with a barber shop. Supposedly, the actual clinic was in the back.

The entire place was even filthier than outside. Hair clippings were literally everywhere as if Larry hadn't cleaned in years, only brushed it to the side. I get it right, we live in a trashy city. But that doesn't mean your shop has to be nasty!

A rather thin guy walked in from the back. I really, really hoped he wasn't Larry. For other people's sake. The guy was obviously high on Dark Ether. The black veins protruding from his skin all but proved it. His eyes weren't dilated… either way, a Medek on Dark Ether wasn't exactly comforting.

"What do you want?" He growled in a gravely voice. That wasn't a good way to keep customers coming back.

"We're here for Jonas. Boss sent us." Yep, lying was the grand strategy I came up. Look, I was more focused on just finding this place than anything. Didn't exactly have time to make a ten step plan.

His eyes narrowed in on me. "I don't know-"

Iris shifted behind me, making the guy's eyes widen. She lightly crossed her arms and tapped her right hand. The sharp blades of her Ticklers poked out of the knuckle 'accidentally'. "Oops."

His face blanched. Even the black veins seemed to significantly fade. "Um- uh, t-they're in the back. I, uh, I have a dentist appointment to get to. Take care!"

Larry tried to run past us, but Iris stopped him with a meaty paw on his shoulder. Her massive hand dwarfing his frail bony form. "Cean this place up sometime. Looks like a dumping ground."

"Y-yes ma'am. R-right after my hospital visit." Iris seemed satisfied with his response. The man sprinted out of the building without a look back.

"Well… that was easy?" Not quite what I was expecting. Maybe I should put skill points into Intimidation? Or maybe Larry was just smart enough to get out when the wine turned sour?

Iris laughed cheerfully and patted me on the shoulder. Her massive paw almost knocked me to the nasty floor. "See! Civil! Now then, Jonas was one of the attackers?"

"Chek chek. Should be four others 'round here too." I shared all this with her already! Twice! She must have an audio suite specifically designed to cut out things she didn't want to hear.

"Nova!" She cracked her knuckles and walked toward the back of the store.

I'm almost afraid to ask. "Do you… do you need help?"

She waved me off gleefully. "Against two guys? Nah! I doubt it'll even take a minute, skinny!"

"It was five…" I quietly mumbled under my breath. After a moment's hesitation, I decided to follow after her anyway. I put in my earbuds to help suppress noise somewhat. I also drew my pistol and edged behind her, keeping a wide berth.

The back room was cube-like. Surprisingly, it was fairly clean. It seemed Larry actually cared about this side of his business. Four guys hung out covered in bandages. A fifth guy was strapped to the Medek chair. Looked like Larry had either just finished, or was just about to start when we entered. Probably Jonas?

They were smoking—Tosta from the scent—and playing a game of cards around the guy on the Medek's chair. None of them seemed particularly concerned about their situation. A bit surprising considering they shot up an Inquisitor.

"Who was it-" The guy on the chair froze, causing his buddies to turn towards us. Silence ensued, only diluted by the chaotic city in the background.

"So," Iris said, "the easy way or the har-"

As if they were waiting for her voice, everyone except Jonas reached for their weapons- two SMGs of some kind, a shotgun, and an AR. I ducked behind cover, but Iris didn't seem to care. She casually stretched out her chrome arm. In the time it took for them to draw, a ballistic shield unfolded.

They unloaded onto the shield, causing the entire thing to glow with red runes—magitech maybe? Her body began to simmer thanks to the bloody Light Tattoos. Iris didn't even flinch at the oncoming fire. Rather, she lunged toward the guy with the shotgun while blocking the other three with her shield.

I thought she was going for a non-lethal attack. In hindsight, I should've known better. She stretched out her hand toward the guy-

Shink!

Three dagger-length claws popped out of her knuckles. The deployed Ticklers caught the light menacingly with her movement. Before the sound could even really fade, she slammed her Ticklers into the shotgun guy's head. He dropped immediately, blades skewered through his face.

The gunfire stopped for a moment. All three of the last guys had mag-dumped, and it caught up with them. Iris took advantage of the gap, jumping toward them with a flying kick. It connected with a sickening crunch, launching the AR man into the wall hard enough to shake it. He crumpled to the ground like tissue paper.

The third guy just managed to reload when Iris moved for him. He started to shoot, but Iris knocked the gun's barrel away with her shield. His fire killed his friend almost immediately. He had bigger issues to worry about though.

In one smooth motion, Iris lunged forward with her fangs outstretched. She bit down and ripped the guy's throat out. She spat the chunk of flesh out and slammed her victim with her shield, dropping him even quicker.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Iris… she was something else. Definitely a high-end merc? I can't even imagine going against someone like her and getting out alive. It'd for sure be a death sentence.

I glanced at the four people whose lives were snuffed out like candles. A surge of pity hit me. They really didn't even stand a chance. They were literally ripped apart before they could even put up much of a resistance. Rather, their resistance didn't even matter.

I likewise felt fear deep in my gut. I could've just as easily been any one of these slags if things had gone even slightly different when my parents died. All it took was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or accepting a gig that went south. I should be more careful in the future. It was a dog eat dog world, and I barely had the claws to defend myself.

"Damn, over already?" Iris sighed. She looked over to Jonas, who was struggling to move in his restraints. Her skin and hair flashed with bloody pulsations. She stalked forward like a hunter catching prey's scent. "What do we have here?"

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