"A-are you sure about this?" Feras timidly asked me. "Woah, deja vu."

I eyed the guy and adjusted my ballistic vest. I motioned out of the parking garage casually. "Just here for a look around. Nothing else."

We stepped onto the streets of Little Yukoto, close to the warehouse. This section was rather full, and there were more homeless out and about then I would've expected. People constantly seemed to flow through bars around here, each more intoxicated than the last. Lots of warehouse and industrial workers.

Neon lights, flickering with age, illuminated the downtrodden faces. High beams flickered constantly from heavy cargo trucks moving around. This area was on the poorer ends of the district… then again, the Ryu Container Yard was also poor. Was Little Yukoto one of the poor districts in general?

Regardless, everyone was strapped. You'd be an idiot not to be in this city. Most people at least put in an effort to hide their guns and weapons. Out here though? They just didn't care. SMGs, shotguns, and pistols were on full display.

'Course, there were those who seemed better off walking around. They were few and far between. Most were probably employees or execs of the small-scale corps that were more prevalent on this side of the city.

A breeze blew by, bringing the radioactive stench of rotting fish from the ocean. I rubbed at my nose as if it would help. That was only the tip of the iceberg of how horrible this place reeked. There were a fair amount of burning drugs, stale alcohol, rotting corpses, and piss all mixed together in one cocktail of nasal torment.

Feras shakily rubbed the back of his head. "I guess it's not so bad-" A gunshot and a scream echoed down from a nearby alley.

I shot him a look. "Really?"

"T-to be fair, that happens all over the city." His hand dipped down to his waist just in case.

"C'mon, the warehouse is that way." Completely ignoring his attempts to act like a pitiful kid, I led us down a few roads. I was a hundred percent sure by this point it was a fake personality. It was just too seamless how often he flowed into and then changed.

The environment visibly degraded, and the taller buildings shrunk down to warehouses as the population out and about gradually turned more seedy. Signs of drug addiction, everything from the cut-up flesh of those addicted to Patch to the black veins caused by Dark Ether, were even more rampant than Bricktown… still better than East End though.

Just the same as elsewhere in the city, Sentinel prowled the streets. Worse, even. Maybe since out here was so close to the Outskirts? They were out in full force. The larger than normal amount of ATVs made sense considering the pod crashed just north of here.

Raijin had a presence too. Smaller van-sized hovercrafts moved around in the sky, seemingly uncaring about us plebeians on the ground. They noticeably hovered over their Sentinel counterparts. Just their casual presence gave an oppressive feel to this entire section of the city… rather, a more oppressive feel. Aythryn City really didn't need the help with that particular aspect.

Eventually, we arrived before the warehouse recorded in Ajay's logs. It was a dilapidated building sitting on a small plot of land. A high wall surrounded the entire plot and the building had a small courtyard area around it. Although the building was not in the best shape, the area was filled with boxes of stuff. Floodlights set up around the area shined brightly over the walls.

As we passed by the gates, I watched the place out of the side of my vision the best I could. Several guards, heavily armed with above-average weaponry, patrolled around the area. They were dressed like gangers, but were just a little off. Their backs were too straight, their movements too uniform, and their weapons too high-end.

Even their clothing, which looked to be the typical colors of a gang, wasn't quite right. Instead of tears from wear, their clothing looked as if it'd been artificially cut. The gashes were just a little too clean. Quite a few of them even had copper-tinted chrome with glowing red highlight rails inlaid into it- Sentinel tech.

It wasn't till we moved out of sight and back closer to the main street that Feras spoke. "What do y-you think it is?"

"I'm still deciding. What about you?" I asked and casually swatted at a kid with grubby hands. The kid froze, then bolted in the opposite direction like Sentinel was after him.

The grifter didn't seem to notice the exchange. He rubbed at the stubble growing from his chin, dropping his pity act for the moment. Once more, he showed his calm but tired side. "It could be a Scav Den… their rifles weren't low quality… Maybe a well-off gang?"

"Maybe." I suspected something a little more than just a gang though…

Most of Sentinel's tech was military-grade, and they weren't something just any ganger could get their hands on. Rather, they could, but military-grade gear was typically reserved for a gang's elites. This would have to be a particularly high-end gang not far off of the Neo-Jokers or Jade Fang to field this much tech, and there's no way I wouldn't have heard about them till now.

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He raised his hands slightly. "I didn't sign up for combat. I'm a grifter."

"Coward." Not that I could blame the guy. I wasn't very good at fighting either. Still… "Aren't you a Magus?"

"More so for utility than anything." He hovered his hand right over the fox amulet on his chest. "Look- you need to get in somewhere or talk to someone? I can do that. Attack a defended location? Hell no. I'm not even slag enough to try."

It's a good thing I didn't necessarily want to get inside. All I needed was to confirm their affiliation to see who Ajay was working with. "That's fine; I have someone else for that… just find somewhere to keep watch. I need to know who they're working for."

"So… why am I here?" He asked as he looked up and down the streets.

"To be another set of eyes." And because I wanted him to 'earn' his keep a bit more- rather, I didn't want to suffer a stakeout by myself while he did who knows what. What's that saying? Suffering enjoys companionship? Stakeouts were by far the worst part of any job. If only they weren't so dang necessary.

He shrugged. "Whatever you say… I saw a building that looked alright. We could camp out on top and have a decent view of the warehouse."

"Sure." Beat my idea of hiding in an alley like a homeless person.

— — —

Nothing came of our little stakeout. Before long, I sent a message to Carone about completing the gig. Feras volunteered to stick behind and keep watch, so I left him on the roof and headed back to my bike.

As soon as I got out of the area, Feras sent me a message. It popped up onto my HUD. 'Someone came out with an escort. Looked important.'

A second later, several pictures came across. Once I came to a stoplight, I looked at them. They were low quality like he took them with his phone at max zoom. They were barely good enough to pick out some of the details, though.

A man with curly black hair stepped out of the compound. His face was twisted into a soft smile that caused my hair to rise when paired with the crazed look in his eyes. Unfortunately, there were no distinctive features or logos. Still had no idea what group he was with.

The drive to Sakura Street was slow even with fewer people on the roads. With the addition of Sentinel ATs prowling the streets of Little Yukoto, traffic in general had ground down. People actually abided by the laws under the turreted view of the heavy vehicles, and it showed in the rate of flow. Even without Sentinel having policing authority.

'Course, I was no different. I kept my head down until I got to Carone's antique shop. The guards did their job and searched me, this time finding my shotgun hiding in my backpack. Other than that though, I got in armed as per usual.

Carone idly played with fire, twisting it into complicated patterns. Only half his face was illuminated by the fire. He threw on a business smile. "Shiro… the goods?"

"Nice to see you too." I shook my head and pulled off my bag. It took a second to remember where I put the chip. I tossed it up to him and threw my bag back over my shoulder. "The virus is up too."

He snatched it out of the air and plugged it into a terminal. "Right… the client will be over any minute with the rest of the pay."

"So… wonderful weather we're having?" Thunder boomed just outside. The storm intensified, and the candles flickered with a stray breeze.

"Indeed…" He tapped his finger against the counter at a slow and steady tempo. The flame he controlled formed a small claw around his finger like a dragon, following his taps.

I remained silent after that, squashing my discomfort with the silence as best as I could. I slunk off to the side of the room and idly looked through the antiquities on sale.

Several minutes later, somebody else entered the shop just as rain started to tap against the window. I glanced over my shoulder-

No way. I pulled up Feras's photos on my HUD and looked between them and the man. Same guy. Two goon, who looked like they'd give the slags out front a run for their money, stepped in behind the man.

I back-stepped further into the shadows, allowing Stalk to hide me from their peripherals. And Lethargic Presence too, for whatever good it'd do for me. No point standing out more than I needed to here.

So… the guy making shady deals with Ajay was indeed planning on a double-cross. I thought as much, but it was nice to get some confirmation. The virus must be some kind of spyware, then. The malwort.mp3 file must've been the only solid connection that he knew of, so he hired someone to remove it.

The man, oblivious to my internal musings, approached the counter with a sickening smile. "Mister Carone! My- erm- order is complete?"

Carone slid the chip across the table. "Course… The package was also uploaded."

"I saw that!" His eyes seemed to hold an unsettling heaviness. Like he wasn't all there, kind of? "You sure work quick. There. Pay is sent."

The fixer checked his terminal. The flames swirling around his back flickered and went back to dozing around a candle wick. A yawn escaped him, causing the two goons to follow along. I myself barely resisted the contagious urge. "Confirmed. All set."

"It's been a pleasure, Mister Carone. I'll drop by if I have anything else." The client casually turned back and left the store, taking his two guards with him.

The door closed, though not before a puddle of water could be swept into the shop. It oozed over the threshold like blood. "Seemed like a cheery guy."

"I typically make it a point to not... involve myself in my client's lives." Carone messed around on the terminal for a moment. My phone dinged, and a bank transfer popped up into my HUD. "There."

Twenty-four hundred Rayn, just like that. It felt good to have a safety net to rely on once more. And I could buy some furniture so I wasn't sleeping on the floor anymore. That was the real bonus here. I couldn't wait to make my apartment feel much more homey.

"Oh, and I've potentially got a lead for that other client." A light smile tried to force its way onto my face. Just the thought of five thousand more Rayn made me happy.

"You should know by now… actions speak louder than words." He smirked and twisted a fire to look like a sheet of paper. Said paper then slowly 'burned' away.

Right. He wanted me to actually have something concrete before coming to him. I caught his drift. I had a feeling that concrete evidence would be coming up really soon though. Something about the client just gave me an uncomfortable feeling.

"Chek. I'll be back." I headed back out the door without any further ado. Couldn't just leave Feras out there.

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