I waved the data slate to the group. "You uh- you have somewhere larger I can put these images up? I'll walk you through what I noticed."

"Sure do!" Iris reached forward for a remote on the coffee table. Before she could grab it, a massive screen slowly started to rise out of the floor. "Thanks, Luna."

I flicked the images up to the screen and walked over to it. I pointed to the Hawks milling about the wreckage. "It's obvious the Hawks were there."

"Right. That's the angle every team in town is moving on." Iris leaned forward and rested her chin on her knuckles.

"Because it's the obvious answer. The Hawks most likely don't have whatever it is you're looking for though." I spoke with confidence. Fake it till you make it, Shiro!

River fiddled with another bottle. "We figured as much…"

"We did?" Iris asked. "Why?"

Kaynis, the werewolf, answered. "Because the bounty would already be collected."

I pointed to the side of the drop pod at the cut-off Raijin logo. Barely any of it remained, and what was left was blocked by the Hawks. It was incredibly hard to spot without foresight or someone pointing it out.

"This was a Raijin Industries drop pod, though I'd hazard a guess and say this is a red herring." I moved my hand to the dead guy slumped in the pod. "I have no idea who-"

"Nathos," Kaynis said. "He is- was an merc nicknamed the King of Death. He was said to be able to put a bullet through a cricket's leg from fifty miles out if things were set up right. More active across the pond, but he was feared in his short operating period."

Nathos. I needed to remember that. Chances were extraordinarily high that I got the interface from him right before he died. Coming here was already paying off in more than one way. Must've had an insane firearms skill.

I looked at the image for a moment before pointing to a mere half-erased pencil sketch of a line. It was impossible to spot and blended in perfectly with the nearby lines tracing the dunes. This was where I would make my money, and hopefully some good faith with this team. "Do you see this line?"

Iris moved up next to me and squinted at it. "Yeah, windlines are quite common on the dunes."

"Except this isn't a wind line." I zoomed in a bit more. The tread had been entirely covered up already, and only the bare minimum shape remained. "I've been in the outskirts a lot, and I'm a hundred percent sure this wasn't caused by the wind. It's too straight and uniform, and look at the slight way it dips into the sand.

"It looks like someone beat the Hawks to the crash site." I motioned to the Hawk's rides, which were mostly dune buggies and other four wheeled vehicles. "A m-motorcycle based on the track, and headed to the city."

"Hmm…" Kaynis shifted. "Well spotted."

And now to throw in a red herring to throw them off my trail. "Maybe the Neo-Jokers? They're the biggest go-gang around, and on the north side of the city."

"Think the Neo-Jokers would've sat on it?" Iris asked the group.

River shook his head. "Nah. They'd have cashed in."

"Chek. Chances are, it's someone not in a gang." And ad in some extra details to sweeten the pot. "Whoever took it most definitely got rid of the briefcase. No reason to keep it, and it would only add suspicion. Do you know what's in the-"

"Yes." The intimidating werewolf used a tone that told me not to ask. I already knew, of course, so I wasn't actually curious.

"Right… well, look for whatever was stored in the briefcase, not the case itself. Sorry, that's all I can definitively say. There isn't a lot to go on with this." I hefted the dataslate with all their pictures. Thankfully, it was in the middle of the desert so there wasn't much info about that night. "Maybe get a Netrunner to check the cams and see if anyone was out and about that night. It'll be incredibly difficult, but twenty million is well worth it."

That was risky. I took a weird roundabout path that night back into the city just in case, but with dedicated looking I might be found out… I hid the case anyway though. There were so many other people out and about that night, it'd be impossible to fully track back to me.

Now to give myself more breathing room. "Check the AE3 stations first, maybe. It takes a lotta fuel to get out and back, so the person probably had to refuel at some point."

"Got that, Luna?" Iris asked the frail girl hidden behind the wolf.

A few moments of silence passed. "Sorry I can't give you more."

Kaynis stood up, his digitigrade legs propping him up far taller than he had a right to be. "And yet you've given us a hint we overlooked. None of us spotted the track. Iris will send you the money-"

"Brother." A feeble voice spoke, instantly causing the werewolf to lock up. He shifted out of the way, giving the girl a view of the massive window.

Now that Kaynis wasn't blocking my view, I could see she was maybe a couple years younger than me. Thirteen or fourteen, though she was incredibly weak looking to be the big bad wolf's sister.

Luna… was it a coincidence that her brother was a wolf exotic? It was probably an alias, the same as Iris's Mesa Moonlet. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the team had a Netrunner in their back pocket that could make all the aliases real considering their level. I really needed to look up Polar Moon when I got the chance.

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Everyone's attention shifted out the window. I followed their gaze, immediately spotting the object of everyone's attention. It started off as a mere speck on the horizon, though rapidly grew larger and larger.

An absolutely gargantuan ship with a flat top like an aircraft carrier pulled into the bay of Aythryn City. A fleet of smaller ships escorted it, each marked with the shield and spear symbol of Sentinel Corp. Dozens if not hundreds of flyers flew out to the massive ship, creating a constant flow of traffic between Sentinel's tower and the ship. The Phalanx Supercarrier had arrived.

The boat was about as intimidating as I expected it to be when I first heard of it. Definitely could cause a lot of damage if its massive guns and armada of flyers turned on the city. I hoped that would never happen.

The Phalanx wasn't the source of my growing unease- at least, not fully. That other half of that honor belonged to a goliath flyer slowly gliding above the ocean waters. As if they planned it beforehand, the massive ship floated to a halt equidistant from the city.

I recognized the thing from Raijin propaganda. It was Raijin Industries' Raiju, their flying fortress. The thing was roughly shaped like a massive stealth bomber from years long since passed, and yet had the sleek and strong body of a massive naval destroyer. Four 'legs' held gargantuan propulsion drives that kept it afloat.

Both giants glinted in the morning sun. The whole thing was a show of force if I'd ever seen one. Raijin must've taken great offense at the whole frame job, even if it was a poor one. Just a bit of logic dictated it wasn't Raijin. No way they'd use a Raijin drop pod over an unmarked one.

Nova. Just… nova. Now there were two behemoths moving enough assets to wipe the city off the face of the planet just because of the research notes. The research notes, I might add, that were currently hiding in probably the least secure place in the world; behind the lining of my fridge.

Kaynis moved to the window and growled low in his throat. "As if one superpower moving in wasn't bad enough…"

"They shouldn't start a war, at least. Not with BosSpace's OP still in commission." River moved beside the giant wolf, likewise staring out at the two behemoths.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean they won't start a cold war…" Kaynis glanced back at Luna with a hint of worry in his eye.

Iris patted me on the shoulder. "Probably best to head home, chum. And uh- be careful. No telling how people will react. I'll send over the Rayn in a bit."

"Chek." I returned the data pad to the group and headed out to the door. The attendant standing there immediately perked up. I couldn't wait to head home and hit the sack.

— — —

I stretched out my spine and rubbed my hand over the loose bandage wrapped around my arm. Pulling off the wrap of bandages, I found the wound to be entirely healed. There wasn't even a scar or mark on the flawless skin.

I ate a quick meal, set the canteen to water, and then returned to my bed. I was almost immediately pulled into the pavilion. There were two Perks to pick from: Criminology and Tech. The flickering flames over both shelves shed light upon their contents.

I moved over to Criminology first and looked through it. Criminology was an interesting Skill. From what I gathered, it related to investigation heavily. There was everything from checking rifling marks on bullets to better use of law enforcement databases to look up files. After digging through the scrolls, I finally settled on one.

「Cue - Everything has a cue, and you'll be able to see them all.」

It wasn't as overpowering as some of the other Perks I'd seen, but I was incredibly aware of how deceptive people were. Hopefully, I'd be able to look through such deceptive acts better. I carried the scroll over to the easel, and it unfolded automatically just as the others had.

The painting was a cartoony rendition of an ancient gambling game of some kind. It was played at a table set up on the balcony of a pavilion. The moon's light flowed alongside red lanterns, providing a gentle ambiance.

Two men and a woman sat at the table with cards in their hands and golden chips laid before them. One of the men put his cards down as if folding, and the other couldn't hide a look of elation. The woman was trickier to read, though. I couldn't quite make out her emotions.

It was so well done it was like I stood on the balcony myself. I could even almost hear the laughter-

"Ahahaa! You finally admit defeat, chumps!" A snide, prideful voice that made me want to punch the speaker came from across the table.

I looked around in a moment of confusion. The pavilion was gone, leaving me standing on the balcony of the painting. My clothes shifted to the same ancient attire and robes of the other three.

I looked down at my hand, feeling mounting horror as I spotted my cartoonified body. My every action and expression was far more animated than usual. Nausea hit me at the incongruence between my mind and body. What the hell was happening?

「Win.」

The calm and cool woman offered a hand to me. "Come join us?"

Oh… it's one of these. I hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside her.

— —

I bolted upright on my mattress, adrenaline kicking my heart like a horse. Was it- was it over? Really? I patted my body, feeling that I was back to myself. More importantly, the world lost that cartoony tilt that would probably haunt my dreams.

"Haah…" A sigh of relief left me. After what felt like years of playing poker with cartoon caricatures, I'd finally won… I beat every contestant, from the grizzled war vets to the talking animals.

It'd been a cartoon hell, and every time I lost my hand I had to read an almost child-like picture book of various cues. It was over though. Well and truly over… I didn't think I'd ever be able to look at cartoons the same way.

In the next moment, my glassed throat brought me back down to reality. I crookedly moved and summoned the canteen from the shadows. The pure water pouring down my throat relieved the burning pain somewhat.

Maybe I should get one of those runner pods that keep them alive in the Net for weeks at a time? I wouldn't have to worry about withering away with one of those. They were expensive though… my bank account striked again.

I could always scale down to something cheaper. I think Medtech made portable cryo systems that weren't too expensive. Would the pavilion even work in a cryo system, though? And I'd need someone to pull me out once it was over.

Something even simpler, then? I could rock an IV every time I went into the pavilion. They were quick and easy, and would solve my dehydration issues. Maybe when I had more money I could set something like that up.

I took care of myself best I could before returning to the pavilion. I still had another Perk and two Skill Points to spend. I was sucked into it, arriving before Tech's shelf. I instantly zeroed in on one. Usually I looked around, but this one was too good to pass up.

「Eidetic Schematic - Never forget any blueprint, schematic, or plan.」

I threw the scroll onto the easel without a second thought. The scroll unraveled to a massive shelf with a bundle of blueprints covering it from floor to roof. Or rather, to the endless abyss above that served as a roof.

I blinked and arrived back in my room. I waited for a moment. Nothing happened. A headaches from dehydration slowly came back-

Wait, no- this wasn't right. The ache intensified with each passing moment, turning into a full-blow migraine. I twisted and turned in my, grabbing at my throbbing head as if it'd help.

Fire flowed through my brain cells, searing my nerves. I felt a chunk of my brain shift and warp. Pure, eternal agony traced through every part of my head, suffusing the nerves in soundless screams.

"EuGH-!" My sheets turned slick with sweat. After what felt like an eternity, the pain slowly faded away. I collapsed back into a sweaty mess on my mattress, groaning.

It took a while before my mind returned enough to move. I shakily gathered my bag, threw on my clothes, and grabbed my hand-held radio before heading out to my bike. Rain slowly drizzled, smacking my jacket. I felt weak all over as I sought the peacefulness of the Outskirts.

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