Pulling onto my street, I noticed a Blue Crusade Cruiser sitting at the corner. Was there a bust going on? I checked it out. Looked like maybe an Inquisitor's ride? Why was one here and not just a Squire? Usually, they only showed up for serious investigations.

I shook my head. So did not want to get involved with them. Not if I could help it. I parked just outside and moved to Granny Smith's container. "It's me."

"It's unlocked!" Her aged voice rang through the door.

I popped open the door and entered the elderly woman's container. "Good morning."

"Morning, dearie." She turned away from the TV, her eyes glancing over me in surprise. "You- you okay?"

Hey there, dearie. You- you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" I looked down at my limbs. I was shaking. Not just a little bit either. The caffeine, or whatever the synthetic chemical was these days, mixed with driving and my nerves were working havoc on my system.

The elderly woman looked at me with a suspicious gaze. "If you say so… I do have Narcan, if you need it."

"What? No- no, it's just caffeine." I ran a hand across the back of my head. "I uh- I've b-been looking into Edward's disappearance."

She patted the seat. "Come, take a seat."

I took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. Telling someone their loved ones were deceased was incredibly difficult. Or so I've been told. I've never had to do it. I've always been the receiving side on this sort of thing.

Ugh- maybe I shouldn't have done this. I didn't have to in the first place. Thinking back, she just talked about Edward and I jumped on to it after getting the request. Maybe she didn't even want to know? It was too late now though.

I started to speak, forcing myself to say it slowly. "I-I'm sorry-"

She nodded before I could say anything more. A flash of sorrow went through her face, and her complexion collapsed for a moment before the normal look returned. "It's alright, dearie… I knew when he didn't contact me that something was up… how did it happen?"

"I- I'm not sure how much I can say. The official report should come out in a week or so, as should his remains." I didn't want to say much more. I doubt she'd turn me over to a Fedra Death Squad, but it'd probably be best to play it a bit safer.

"At least he died amongst brothers… Thank you for giving this old woman some closure. I-" She stopped and closed her eyes. "Thank you."

She stood up and moved behind the counter of her kitchen. A sound I recognized as the dial of a safe ticked just under the sounds of her TV. Speaking of sounds, off in the distance came a racket of gunshots and cacophonous booms, drowning out the clicks. Maybe the Inquisitor found what they were looking for?

She glanced up but otherwise didn't react to the sounds. Such things weren't uncommon around here. Granny Smith stood up, holding what looked to be a glove in her hand.

"I know you don't want money from me, but at least take this for your efforts, dearie. It's not much, but it was incredibly helpful back when I was active. It's just collecting dust now." She handed over the glove before I could reject her.

The glove unraveled in my hand, revealing its form. It had a bunch of complicated-looking circuitry around the fingers. In the palm of the glove sat three silver balls linked together by a metal cord just slightly bigger than a microwire. It took me a second to realize it was a bola. And not just a simple one based on the circuitry.

"I know you work on the more dangerous side of town with the Fang, so this might help. It's called an Electro-bola. After it wraps someone, you can make it administer shocks to keep them… compliant." She shrugged. "You don't have to use it, but please take it."

I stared down at the thing. Electro-bola, huh? I've never heard of one, but then again I'm not much involved in the weapon side of things. Was it even a weapon in the first place? Or did such a thing count as a gadget rather than a weapon? Tasers counted as weapons, so maybe?

She had such a look of sincerity in her eyes. Her heart nearly leaked through them, making it impossible to refuse. I carefully accepted the bola. "Thank you."

We talked a bit more before I returned to my container. I had a lot of new gear out of this, at least. Ballistic vest, a rifle, and now the electro-bola. The vest, at least, would be extremely helpful. Probably best I kept it on just in case.

Just as I was about to lay down and enter the pavilion, a call came up into my HUD: Iris. I stared at the mattress. A bad feeling washed over me, one unrelated to Insight. "Hello?"

"Ah, beansprout! I've gotta gig for ya- a real simple one." Iris's voice cut through my ear. There was some idle chatter in the background. Was she not alone?

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"Chek. I'm super tired and just got home, so when do you-"

"Right now!" Iris completely crushed any hope of getting some rest. I wasn't a hundred percent sure if she just didn't hear me, or didn't care. "Just need ya to look at a couple of pictures, and tell me if anythin' stands out. Five hundred Rrayn if ya can get a solid clue!"

I've already been going for nearly a day straight… but it was five hundred Rayn for just looking at a picture… I could maybe just pop over and check it out? "Deets?"

"Rime's Peak Lounge. Over by Portside. Ya can't miss it. Oh, and tell the guards at the door Polar Moon asked for ya and they'll let ya in." She became quieter, as if talking to someone else. "See? Told ya I had someone."

"I'll be there in a bit."

"Yeah! See ya, chum!" Iris hung up.

I tossed my gear down and looked through a rack of clothes for a change of clothes. I swapped to something much more comfortable, closer to pajamas. Jade Fang markings covered it, but that was just the way most of my clothes looked. Should be fine. Not like I'm going to some high-end location.

I summoned Crow's Canteen of Chaos from the shadows. It'd take a while to completely refill, but there was some energy drink left in it. I chugged down the contents and looked myself over. Hmm… I stopped and threw on the new Fused Panel ballistic vest just in case.

Rime's Peak Lounge… sounded familiar, for some reason. Anyway, I was just going to look at a picture, how much trouble could this be?

— — —

As it turned out, my little trip could be trouble, and a substantial amount at that. Maybe because Iris was… well, Iris, one important fact slipped my mind. She was a top-class merc. As such, it shouldn't have been that big of a surprise that Rime's Peak Lounge was the most popular and established lounge in the entirety of Aythryn City.

Rime Peak Lounge… it was the type of place that not even corpo execs could get into on a whim. It was a place that the uber-rich with generations of wealth, nomad family heads, and FSA generals could all be within ten feet of each other. Definetely a spot for the uber-powerful and rich.

To put it simply? I was way out of my league. Like, so far out of my league I didn't even know where I should be in the first place.

The Rime Peak Lounge itself sat on the furthest out border between the Corporate Quarter and Portside. It was one of the tallest buildings around, blending in with the towering Big 7 buildings. In my opinion, it also looked way cooler.

The thing was a marvelous work of art. It sharply contrasted with the grim and overbearing backdrop of the city. The first dozen floors looked like a giant iceberg made of light gray stone, holograms, and blue neon. It wasn't advertising neon and holograms either. No, the neon and holograms here were just for aesthetic purposes.

The gray undertones of the first several stories helped prop up the rest of the lounge. Literally. Great chains anchored into the stone iceberg arced up, 'chaining' down a massive white iceberg. Although I couldn't see them, I read that there were machines up there that produced real snow and ice. The entire thing glowed ethereally as if it was granted down by a higher power rather than built by human hands.

Of course, the security in the place was top-notch, potentially even higher than the Big 7s. Only those on the list were allowed in, and getting on the list was almost impossible for the common folk. You had to be someone to get in. Unless, of course, they were invited in like me.

There were thousands, if not tens of thousands of people out and about outside of Rime Peak Lounge. Although they couldn't get in, the area within a block was the hottest spot for bars and lounges in the city. Legal-wise, at least. Ichiban was also a hot spot, but it tended to cater toward more… illicit services.

The place was popular. So popular the entire sub-district around it was called the Peaks. There was even a subculture of being around the lounge on the off chance of catching someone's fancy and being invited in. This subculture was what led to the throngs of people always out and about in an eternal party. They were insane bastards with no respect for others.

That was an unbiased way of saying I had to park several blocks away thanks to the concentrated population. There were roads to get to the lounge, but I didn't have clearance to get on them. I was horribly out of my element on the long, arduous walk to the doors.

Music boomed loud enough to blow an eardrum, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was like the entire area around here was one massive nightclub, even if it was around noon.

Halfway there, it started to snow. Not natural snow, mind you. The Rime Peak Lounge covered the entire area around it in a light blanket of snow, selling the aesthetic even more. Although it was over the top, I had to admit it was pretty cool. At least, till the snow hit the ground and turned to sludge.

Long lines sat at each door, full of crazed hopefuls. I bypassed the line entirely, getting hundreds of glares and stares. The reason was obvious. Here I was in clothes slightly above pajamas. Everyone else around me? Elaborate and very expensive outfits and costumes. I definitely didn't belong.

I was stopped long before getting near the door, alongside a dozen or so others. The guards of the lounge fit the aesthetic to a tee. They all had Chemskin, so their skin was a pale icy blue. They also all had Techair pulsating with smooth pulses of frost and snow. They looked like snow people or something.

One of the blue skinned guards in icy armor stopped me. Even his voice was modulated to sound cold. "Name?"

"Uh, Polar Moon invited me," I said, failing to suppress the nervousness in my voice. I was horribly out of my element. I looked like I just got out of bed… if only that was true.

The man arched a perfectly sculpted brow, and his eyes glowed a brilliant aurora blue. "Hmm… Miss Shiro?"

"Ch-chek, that's me." Real smooth, Shiro! Just keep stuttering your way through; it really shows confidence. C'mon, just pretend like this is just another heist. Fake it till you make it, and no one should question you.

"A moment." The guard's eyes glowed again, and a man in an elaborate silver suit approached. A servant by the looks of it, though he could've just as well been a guard. He had the ferocity of a combat veteran to him. "Escort Miss Shiro here to Polar Moon. Floor one forty-three, room seventeen."

It was kind of weird that they weren't searching me. I figured this would be the kind of place where you have to leave your weapons by the door. Hmm... maybe they were just that confident in their security forces? Or was there something else in the works? Either way, neither of the men seemed to care about my gun poking just slightly out.

"Right this way, Miss Shiro." Whereas the guard's voice was icy, the servant's was smooth like flowing water. He pushed open the door into one of the most sought-after locations in all of Aythryn City…. Just what have you gotten yourself into now, Shiro?

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