The man in the gray cloak, who Arya knocked out with bricks, was still unconscious.

"So, you told his employers that we kept quiet because of outsiders, and now everything's clear?" the orc asked for clarification.

"Exactly," I confirmed with a nod. "Now, anyone we deceive will have to get past us."

"Great job, just like you promised," Arya smiled, still beaming from our success. "You know, we've known each other for over a year, and you still surprise me."

I shrugged. The orc's respect was a bonus, and it helped with negotiations. An hour ago, Arya would not have listened to me, but now we had made a deal. We agreed not to attack strangers if they were too strong, but instead, to follow them and gather information.

"They're coming," Arya pressed me against the roof. For a moment, I felt like I was on a planet with a stronger gravitational force than Earth's.

I didn't try to move as dozens of figures dressed in black military suits and coarse, fluffy cloaks, like rat fur, passed by us on the roof. It was like a migration of dangerous rats.

"They're going to fight," Arya whispered excitedly.

"It's the third fight tonight," I said, knowing how it would end.

There was a glimmer of hope that we could follow the "rat cloaks" without provoking them. But, I knew Arya too well and was sure she would find the right moment to attack.

We missed the group, but caught up with them after a short delay. We even ran across the roofs.

"Wait a second," I told Arya, holding her back. "We don't need to rush. I can see everyone with their radio, so they can't escape now."

"It's too risky," Arya warned me. "If you can see them, they can see you. They might set a trap for us."

"But they can't break into Valera's..." I started.

"Still, you've always told me not to take unnecessary risks," Arya interrupted.

As we chased the "rat cloaks," they easily jumped over a gap between two buildings using their suits. I wished my suit had the same feature, but I used my staff with fire charges to keep up with them.

I slowed down to find the right moment to cross, and Arya understood my plan.

"Don't use the fire charges and attract attention," she advised.

"No, don't!" I shouted.

It was too late. Arya grabbed me and threw me to the next roof. I felt a bit embarrassed, but it was convenient. I even managed to get ahead of her, and she was breathing heavily behind me.

After five minutes of running across the roofs, I detected a signal from someone's radio behind a pipe. Fortunately, Valera had muted it, and we were able to take down the observer without alerting anyone else. Arya punched the pipe to knock out the guard and disable the protective field.

I quickly searched for him and made sure that we were prepared to respond using the radio and phone when needed. After a minute, the familiar voice spoke through the radio asking for a confirmation of the situation.

"I am Yellow-one code," I replied for the unconscious "rat cloak", recalling that our last victim also did not rely on his memory, and all the codes were found in a password-protected file in a hidden folder. This time, I chose not to report that everything was too clean, opting instead for the strategy of randomly encountering a group of strangers who wouldn't interfere with the job.

Our strategy seemed to work as no one else was in our way, and after twenty minutes, we reached the place where the group of "rat cloaks" was in a hurry to get to. It was a fairly large private house on the border of Vorobyovy Hills with a great view, large territory, and good approaches from the slums side. If it weren't for the latter, it could have seemed like a usual attack, but with them...

"Do you think it's a fight between criminal gangs?" Arya asked.

"The place is too suitable," I nodded. "If I had started any criminal business, I would have built it like this. And there are too many of them for a typical 'rat cloak' house."

"We need to get some information," Arya decided and was about to crawl forward when I stopped her.

"It'll be easier to call him," I said, shaking the two captured radios.

From then on, it was all about technique. We had to detect the nearest lone point from the rat gang, identify their call sign, and then call and direct them to our square.

"Eleventh, why are you calling and with a red code?" a pale face in black armor emerged from the darkness.

"Indeed, why so formal?" Arya emerged from the darkness directly opposite the stranger, and then knocked out his protective shield with a single blow.

"Rat cloak" was backing away and struggling to call for help while Valera stood her ground. "Who are you? Where is the eleventh one?" he asked. I pointed towards the roof, indicating where the scout was left, but the victim misunderstood my answer and accused us of killing him. Without hesitation, Arya punched him in the mouth, silencing him.

"We need another one," the orc said with a grimace. "I hope the rest aren't as jumpy."

I agreed and proceeded to call for another victim using an emergency code. The second "rat cloak" arrived and asked the same old questions: "Who are you? Where is the eleventh one?" I pointed upstairs once again, but the victim tried to scream, prompting Arya to knock them out.

"We must be doing something wrong," the orc pondered.

I nodded in agreement, but then I had an idea. "Let's do it again!" I exclaimed.

Arya nodded, and we began our routine once more. I tried to switch up my responses, adding some humor with phrases like "Grandpa in a coat" or "Horror flying on the wings of night," but it didn't matter. Every time a victim tried to call for help, Arya knocked them out.

"Why are they all so weak?" the orc complained while attempting to revive the next victim.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Suddenly, another head appeared over the edge of the roof. "Who are you?" they asked.

"I am your father," I replied in a tragic voice.

"Daddy!" the "rat cloak" exclaimed, reaching out towards me before falling off the roof.

Arya leaned over the edge and assessed another unconscious body. "How many are left?" she asked.

"Five," I replied after checking the signals. "They seem to suspect something since they're huddled together and not responding to my messages."

Arya rubbed her hands together. "Should we take them?" she asked eagerly.

I didn't get a chance to respond because some platforms with laser devices appeared on the roof of the nearby house. I had seen them in a catalog on the black market before. These devices come with a small nuclear reactor, and the laser beam is strong enough to cut through steel that is almost three centimeters thick. The roof we were sitting on wouldn't survive such an attack.

"Let's go!" I yelled to Arya when three blue beams shot through the neighboring houses.

Bricks were exploding into stone crumbs, and the "rat cloaks" were hit. They screamed, indicating they didn't fare well.

"Let's go!" I repeated, but Arya didn't budge. Her eyes were blazing with excitement.

"At last, a worthy adversary," she exclaimed, taking out an armature from behind her back that she had taken from the shabby robber. When did she even manage to get it?

"Maybe we shouldn't?" I hesitated. "It might explode..."

"It definitely will," the orc nodded and then flung the metal piece straight into one of the laser devices.

The steel piece whistled through the air so fast that it had time to heat up. The protective screen was unable to handle such an energy breakthrough, and the gun that Arya chose as the target shattered into pieces. Several blocks lit up. The other lasers were also hit, and smoke started to rise from inside the house.

"That's it for sure!" I concluded. "We're leaving and staying at home for at least a week to ensure that no one is looking for us."

"But what if those igigs spot us and make us fight?" Arya pointed to several rapidly approaching points against the glowing sky.

"They won't see us!" I barked and jumped off the roof.

I was ready for someone following us. When Valera fell, I quickly called an inconspicuous car with an autopilot module that I installed. I used the leftover explosive charge to slow down our fall. Arya jumped after me, maybe inspired by my determination.

"What's next?" Arya asked as we got into the car, and it sped off, leaving tire tracks on the road. "Do you think the locals will see us on the cameras?"

"Definitely not," I replied, still working with Valera.

Valera began counting down from ten, and Arya stayed quiet, waiting for it to be over. We zoomed through empty streets, and when Valera hit one, we turned the corner and saw a slow-moving truck. The truck's rear doors opened, and we flew inside with the sound of the brake pads tearing. The doors closed after a few seconds, and we were in complete darkness.

"Report," I asked Valera.

"We entered the mother ship through a window between passing satellites. The chance of anyone seeing us is less than one percent. The bottom of the cargo truck is damaged, and the reinforcements, beams, and brake straps are deformed by over forty percent. I suggest reinforcing the construction to prevent damage next time," Valera reported.

"So, we're hiding in one of the 'Horizon' cargo trucks," Arya said. "And no one saw us. Not bad."

"We'll arrive at the warehouse, and no one will find us," I said, relieved.

At first, I considered a comic book-style plan with a secret path under a waterfall in a mountain as an evacuation plan. But Valera tested thousands of options and couldn't create one where the scheme couldn't be detected after a couple of uses. However, the idea from another movie passed the test thanks to the "Mercedes" bandits and the best French taxi driver.

***

Savik had just finished his report on the biological threat for the captain and the governor when he got another report on the events from the previous night. It seemed that the plague was not the only thing to worry about.

"What's the news?" the policeman asked his assistant, rubbing his forehead.

"Apparently, a new gang called the 'Rat King' hired almost thirty mercenaries," Nikita, a new intern from the Academy, read from the report. "Most of them are foreigners with military experience, and they're known to work dirty. The imperial guard had been keeping an eye on them for a while, but they've been hard to track down."

Savik groaned. "And what did they do?"

"They were hired to clear out a house where Lady Cat supposedly lives," Nikita replied. "But according to reports, they were knocked out by an unknown squad. Lady Cat's lasers only fried five of them, and the rest were taken down by this mysterious group. They also destroyed her laser installations and half of the house."

Savik was confused. "Do we know anything about this unknown squad?"

"Not much," Nikita admitted. "The testimonies are all over the place, so we don't have a clear picture yet."

"Could they be connected to the night vigilantes we were investigating before?" Savik wondered.

"There's no specific evidence, but it's possible," Nikita said, flipping through his notes. "One theory is that they might be connected to the servants of a certain Night Cult, but we don't have much to go on."

Savik sighed. "Great. This is the last thing we need right now."

Nikita spoke in a flat tone that made Savik want to scream. The gangsters' stories were confusing, but it could be because of a powerful mentalist's intervention.

"What do you mean by grandpa’s gang?" Savik asked.

"Most likely, it's a metaphor for their power source. However, one of the 'rats' claimed they tried to sexually assault him. He was almost knocked out and saw a muscular woman staring at him like she wanted to eat him."

"Is that everything?"

"No, but can I try to draw a conclusion?" Nikita asked, stretching.

"Sure," Savik replied, tiredly.

"Even though the 'rats' have different names, they all mention a coat... So, I think it's the Irish. Remember the Sharp Cardsharps gang? I think there's a clear connection here."

Savik thought it was nonsense but told Nikita to check this theory anyway. He could get rid of him for a while.

"Anything else?" Savik asked.

"Yes, there's one more thing," Nikita said, hurrying. "One of the victims said his father attacked them."

"That should have been our starting point," Savik said, relieved. "Find him and question him..."

"That won't be possible," Nikita said, shaking his head. "This same 'rat' killed his father ten years ago. I'll ask for an investigation of the grave, but it's a dead end."

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Request and check it yourself," Savik said, thinking that he could finally get some peace from Nikita for at least a day or two.

"May I go ahead?" Nikita asked, standing up straight.

Savik was about to let him go when their phones simultaneously flashed red with an emergency message.

Savik rushed to pull out his letter and quickly scanned it, his eyes focusing on the key point. The "Happiness" corporation was the owner of the steel projectile that had blown up Lady Cat's laser cannon. "Just what I needed. And it used to be such a peaceful neighborhood!" he thought, frustration building in him.

***

After our night stroll, the city was abuzz with activity for several days. Arya and I kept a watchful eye on the corporate igigis flying back and forth, worried that we might be caught by the police or the supers. However, it seemed like they were preoccupied with settling their own scores. As I roamed the streets, I overheard people discussing the recent searches at the "Happiness" corporation on every corner, which worked in our favor. Not only did we manage to remain unnoticed, but the constant checks and interruptions in their work also slowed down the development of "Horizon," attracting the conservative part of the clientele to my business instead.

I am immensely grateful to Valera for helping me with all the paperwork. Without him, the empire's bureaucrats would have easily overwhelmed me. Thanks to him, I even managed to create a couple of dummy companies as a precautionary measure in case of raid attacks. Although I'm not sure if it's accepted in this world, I decided to play it safe and avoid any ethical questions that local corporations may raise in the future. It wasn't difficult to enter known cases into the databases and let the neural network suggest potential ways of protection. Hopefully, I won't have to use them.

"Hey, Lex!" Fat Sam greeted me as soon as I stepped into the "Grey Friend" shopping center. Over the past few weeks, he had distanced himself from the first part of his nickname and become slimmer, hence the new moniker, Slim Sam. "Hey, Slim Sam!" I replied with a smile.

He hesitated before speaking, "I wanted to talk to you about the training. You promised to train me personally, and your instructions were very helpful, but don't you want to see how much progress I've made? After all, the rematch is tomorrow!"

To be honest, I had forgotten about this small matter in light of our night's events. Luckily, Valera had been keeping an eye on the guy's training. However, I said something else altogether.

"I came here for that very reason," I said in a cheerful voice, turning the heads of several neighboring store owners. They all smiled, grateful for the help I had given them in developing their businesses, except for the pastry seller who seemed unhappy about something. She looked at me challengingly, and I realized that there was something I didn't know...