Shaggy stared at the posing cat girl for a full minute before he scoffed and waved Rita down. He returned to his seat as Ruby yowled in indignation.

“Hey! That was a perfect anime-style entrance! Show some respect!”

“Sure thing. Respect all around, I swear,” Shaggy said as he retook his seat and sighed.

Ruby dropped the rest of her fur coat camouflage and harrumphed in annoyance. As Shaggy got a better look at her, he realized she was in pretty rough shape. Her clothes were scuffed, she had lost her hat, and she even had fresh bruises on her face and arms. He quirked an eyebrow as Rita moved to the front door and looked outside. Apparently, she had also noticed the peculiarities.

“What happened to you?”

Ruby hissed involuntarily as she sat down at Shaggy’s table. “What happened to me?! Your fucking job happened to me! I died three times, lost four contacts, hundreds of credits, and I’ve had to lose so many tails.”

Shaggy’s eyes went to the furry appendage, waving past Ruby’s shoulder. She scowled at him.

“Not that kind of tail, dumbass. I’ve always enjoyed digging up mysteries. But the HLO is a pain in the ass. Or whoever it is. I couldn’t even get confirmation that the HLO was behind it.”

“What happened?”

“Well, like we agreed, I went out to find what was holding up your paperwork at City Hall. After being given the runaround for a bit, I picked up my first tail. Nothing major, just some rent-a-thug with more muscles than sense. But he didn’t know anything either.”

Shaggy waved for one of the Lackeys to bring them something to eat and drink. The young guy nodded and went back toward the kitchen. Shaggy winced as he thought of Mr. Stein whispering to the meat. But he didn’t hear any screams, and the Lackey didn’t rush back out of the kitchen, so he figured things were fine.

Rita had taken a spot at the front door, her sword resting across her forearm. Shaggy could tell she was listening in on their conversation. He waved for Ruby to continue as he kept his own eyes scanning the front window of the deli. Ruby had mentioned tails.

“That’s when I lost my first contact. He just ghosted me. Wouldn’t say a damn thing about the holdup. So I broke in and got into their computers. Turns out, there is an automatic hold on all requests coming from this neighborhood.”

“Well, that can’t be legal.”

Ruby waggled a hand back and forth. “Kinda-sorta. All requests are on hold because another businesses requests have priority and nothing is going through until those are dealt with. Trouble is, they aren’t being dealt with. A company has jammed up the system with so much digital paperwork that City Hall literally can’t get to everything.”

“How is that possible? They’ve got tons of massive computers and shit, right? They should be able to go through the requests fairly quickly.”

“Which is why I started investigating the holdup and put another contact on the company making the requests. She went missing, and the company disappeared like it was never even there. Soon after, another new company started doing the same thing. Surprise surprise.”

A Lackey came over with a plate of cooked meats and cold cuts. He placed the tray on the table as Ruby gave Shaggy a weird look. He shrugged his shoulders.

“We’re a deli. We aren’t going to have donuts, y’know?”

Ruby snorted. “And here I thought this was all a front.”

Shaggy just grabbed a bit of what looked like salami and waved for her to go on. Ruby rolled her eyes and snatched some meat from the tray. Chewing, she explained.

“So, turns out, all the requests jamming the system are being marked for manual review. But no one is reviewing them. They are just sitting there. So I asked around City Hall about the request and I was killed.”

Shaggy blinked. “They just killed you outright, in city hall?”

“No! I asked in one of the daily town halls the city does. Some pencil-pusher explains the goings-on in the city daily. So I used my press credentials to get in and started asking. Afterward, on my way home, I was attacked from behind. Never stood a chance. I was dead before I knew what hit me. So I switched targets.”

“You went after the new company?”

“Naw, I broke into City Hall again and tried to find the guy in charge of manual review. But he doesn’t freaking exist. All there was is a door with his name on it and an empty room. Which is where I died the second time.”

Shaggy tilted his head. “What got you?”

“I don’t know. I had just opened the door to the office and took a step in. Next thing I know, I’m at the hospital being charged with breaking and entering.”

“How the hell did you get out of that?”

“Showed the cops my credentials and told them I was meeting a whistle-blower. They wanted my contact, so I gave them the fake reviewer. They’ll be chasing their tails on that one for a bit. And I faked the reviewers’ ID to gain access to the building. So it looks like he let me in and then tried to attack me. Can’t wait for that to play out for fucking City Hall.”

A steaming carafe of coffee was set on the table as well as some water. Shaggy poured himself a cup of coffee as Ruby reached for the water. They both sat quietly for a moment, silently eating. Shaggy looked toward the front of the store again. Civilians were moving about the streets here and there, but nothing that looked dangerous. Rita was still standing guard and looking menacing.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The older woman snorted at Shaggy’s thoughts as Ruby started her story again.

“That’s when I switched targets to the company. Supposedly, it’s some construction company out near Roger’s Hill. But they are applying for all sorts of permits. Food and service stuff, as well as your standard construction contracts.”

“Shell company?”

Ruby gave him a withering look. “Obviously. But they still had a building and offices. I broke in and snooped around. But other than dark offices and desks that have never been used, there’s nothing there. I was just leaving the building when I was killed for the THIRD time!”

Shaggy nodded. “Okay, that explains the three deaths. But what about the other two contacts?”

“I burned those trying to find out who registered the new company in the state of Texas. One ghosted me, while the other died this morning in a car accident. It has been a fucking time, Shaggy. I’m going to have to ask for more money.”

“What? You’re not quitting?”

“Fuck no! Do you know how many times my skills have gone up during this little mission? Even with the deaths resetting my skill progression, the gains have been massive. I just need some credits to buy some new contacts and travel to the Department of Revenue. Somewhere there’s a name attached to the two shell companies. I NEED to find it.”

Shaggy nodded slowly and summoned Ephemara with his Pack Link. He told her to bring up some credits as he watched the few civilians moving past their deli. He felt Rita tense up as a pair of men moved past the deli. They gave her odd looks as she stood in the window, but hurried past. Rita relaxed and Ruby snapped her fingers to get Shaggy’s attention.

“So… Credits?”

“They are on their way up. Do you want some protection this time? I can send a few Lackeys with you to give you some help.”

Ruby waved him off. “Naw. I don’t need it.”

Shaggy gave her a deadpan look and Ruby actually blushed.

“I just mean a few deaths aren’t going to hurt me. I’ll just reappear in the hospital.”

“Unless you wind up in a cell in some HLO blacksite.”

“That’s the thing Shaggy. We still don’t know if the HLO is involved in all this. I’ve been chasing a shell company that’s jamming up the permit office. I haven’t even gotten to the big fish yet.”

“Was that a cat joke?”

Ruby paused, and her ears twitched. “No, but it was surprisingly apt, wasn’t it?”

Shaggy chuckled as he felt Ephemara make it to the deli. He turned to greet her and a loud crack echoed through the room. The sound was followed by shattering glass and a loud grunt. Shaggy spun back around and found Rita draped over Ruby, a hole in her armor. The front deli window was shattered and pedestrians were running and screaming.

Ruby grunted as she tried to shove Rita off of her, but the larger woman was heavy. Shaggy moved toward the front of the store as he ordered some Lackeys to pull Rita to safety. He could still feel her through the Pack Link. But the wound wasn’t closing as fast as it should. Ruby was surprisingly calm as she followed the Lackeys deeper into the store.

Shaggy stood in front of the window, fearless and pissed off as he scanned the rooftops. A shadow moved across one of the buildings and he moved. Ephemara followed him invisibly as he rushed across the street and angled himself to catch the shadow. But the person was moving too fast. Shaggy was sure he wasn’t going to catch the shooter by running. So instead, he quickly pivoted and went to the roof the shooter had been on.

Shaggy got next to the building and used his claws to climb up its side. Once on top of the building, Shaggy crouched down and took a long sniff. Burnt ozone, sweat, and leather rushed into his nostrils and Shaggy watched as a scent trail formed. Ephemara appeared at his side and put a hand on his shoulder. Looking up at her, Shaggy saw that she had her eyes closed and was sniffing the air, too.

“You see his scent?” Shaggy asked.

“Is that the blue cloud-thing?”

Shaggy nodded as he stood back up. He grayed out the other scents and started following the blue one at a distance. Ephemara turned invisible again and rushed after him. Shaggy checked in with Rita. She was in pain and annoyed at him, but she was holding down the fort. Shaggy tracked the scent across the neighborhood and into downtown Austin. The hovering drones and bustling streets made him slow down. But he continued to focus on the shooter’s scent.

They tracked the shooter as he back-tracked multiple times across his own scent. But the scent trails made it easy to distinguish where the newer scents were. The shooter zigzagged his way deeper into Austin until they came to a squat gray bar with a neon sign on the front. The sign was off and the bar seemed empty as Shaggy and Ephemara approached.

Ephemara sent Shaggy a notice that she was going to the roof as he boldly checked the windows of the bar. But the place was closed, and the lights were out. Shaggy couldn’t see anyone or anything in the bar and he was about to break in, when Ephemara sent him something. She found the guy behind the bar and he was on the phone. Shaggy quickly jumped to the roof and crouched-walked toward the back side. As he got closer, he heard an angry southern drawl almost shouting.

“NO! I didn’t miss. Some tall bitch got in the way… No, I didn’t take a second shot because some short super rushed me… I don’t know… No, I don’t think so… YES! I’ll fucking get her, you just make sure the money gets sent and I can do my fucking job. The fucking cat-bitch won’t walk away this time.”

Shaggy had heard enough as he signaled Ephemara to jump. She didn’t hesitant and followed him down as he threw himself over the side of the roof. He landed roughly and had to stable himself, but the surprise made the shooter freeze. Comm unit still held up to his ear. Ephemara landed right behind the grizzled-looking assassin and waited. Shaggy reached over and yanked the comm unit out of the man’s hand.

“We’re sorry. The assassin you’ve hired is currently fucked. Please send another at your earliest convenience. I love breaking assassins.”

Shaggy crushed the communicator as he glared at the man. The shooter tried to back up and rammed into Ephemara, who gripped his arms and held him in place. The man gulped and steadied himself as Shaggy got closer. Shifting his hand into his claws, Shaggy stuck the bestial hand into the man’s face and smiled.

“I ain’t saying shit.” The shooter said.

He said it with such calm and professionalism that Shaggy believed him. Usually thugs were freaked out by Shaggy’s shock and awe tactics. But once the assassin had gotten a hold of himself, he seemed to accept his fate. He didn’t even struggle against Ephemara’s hold.

Shaggy put down his clawed hand. “Hmmmm, well, that’s unfortunate. Guess we’re gonna have to search your mind.”

“Pfft! Please. I’m a professional, jackass.”

The man reached up a hand to his chest slowly and pulled on his buttoned up shirt. A few buttons came loose and Shaggy saw a tattoo on the man’s skin. It looked like some kind of glyph or rune, and Shaggy was sure it was magical.

“It’ll kill me before I say a damn thing. Probably give your Mentalist a bloody nose, too.”

Shaggy nodded and put a furry finger up to his mouth. “Uh-huh. Wow, that is annoying.”

The smug assassin grinned as Shaggy seemed to contemplate his options. But then Shaggy bolted forward and grabbed the guy by his throat.

“Luckily, I know a decent Necromancer.”

For the first time, the assassin’s expression wavered as he searched Shaggy’s face. Seeing that Shaggy wasn’t lying, the assassin made an actual attempt to escape. But Shaggy flexed his fingers and choked the man for a few seconds. Once the man calmed down, Shaggy shifted his hand back to normal and punched the assassin hard in the face. The man went limp in Ephemara’s arms and Shaggy started looking around for a car or something.

“I’m telling Levy.” Ephemara said as Shaggy looked around.

“What?”

“You said her Necromancy was only ‘decent.’” Ephemara grinned.

Shaggy smirked as he shook his head. “She’ll forgive me. I was in the moment.”

Ephemara gave him a dubious look as she tossed the body across her shoulder.

“She’ll forgive me.” Shaggy said, again unconvincingly.

Ephemara started to walk out of the alley as Shaggy continued to think about his predicament.

“Shit.”