When I arrived at Lele Park, the place was redesigned; before, it was an open outside area, but now it's an indoor shopping mall. My eyes widened at the sight of the bustling crowd, even though it was still early in the morning. I scanned the area, trying to locate the person who had arranged the meeting, but with no luck. The sheer number of people made it impossible to find my contact. I continued to search, scouring shops, bars, and even the hotel, but still couldn't spot the person I was supposed to meet.

Feeling frustrated, I headed to the bar and took a seat. I hoped that the person I was looking for would eventually show up. After waiting for about ten minutes, I felt a nudge on my shoulder. I turned to see a woman with bright cyan hair with pink streaks sitting next to me at the bar.

I was taken aback by her abruptness and commented, "A bit rude for an introduction."

She turned her head and introduced herself as Cynthea. She expressed her displeasure at having me tag along with her to find the target. She then asked me to follow her to her car and wanted to know how much I knew about the person we were after.

"Almost nothing. The only piece of intelligence I got was this picture," I replied, showing Cynthea the photo.

Cynthea explained that the man in the picture was David Kane, who used to have a wife and a daughter. She then went on to reveal that his wife had died of an incurable illness three years ago, and his daughter despised him.

Cynthea continued, "Dave had joined the 6th Street gang when they were at their lowest point; they were struggling to make money, and the constant attacks from some Italian mobs made their lives a living hell."

My eyes widened at the mention of the Italian mob. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that the Almano crime family was responsible for the attacks. I decided to play dumb, as there was a strong likelihood that I might have encountered Dave at some point.

“I mean, imagine being in his daughter's shoes for a second. Your mother, who loved you and cared for you, is dead from an incurable illness, and your deadbeat father is a gang banger who kills people and claims that they are doing this for you. No wonder she hates him,” Cynthea expressed.

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“So why do we need to go after him?” I asked.

“Ever since 6th Street fell, he’s been doing odd jobs for different gangs, and this has annoyed a few people, more specifically Tyger Claws. Who wants someone to bring Dave in for questioning? And that's where we come in. I have a meeting with some Tyger Claws who plan on giving me the location of where Dave is."

We spotted Cynthea's car, which was adorned with the same vibrant and striking colors as her hair. She asked if I was comfortable riding with her or if I preferred to meet her at the venue. As I had no idea where the destination was, I decided to accompany her in her car.

Getting in her car, I couldn't stop looking at the uniqueness of Cynthea's hair color. I asked her if she had recently dyed it or if it was natural. She revealed that her hair was enhanced with cybernetic upgrades, just like Ruby's.

While on the drive, I asked why she wasn’t happy that I was working alongside her. Cynthea revealed that she has a trust issue and doesn’t like working with people, and the fact that Wakako had asked me to watch over her annoyed her. I expressed that I would let her take charge and that I'd only get involved when things get messy.

We arrived at the docks near Jig-Jig Street, and as we walked around, we kept an eye out for the Tyger Claws we were supposed to meet. The rain had started to fall, and we noticed a group of men in suits huddled under umbrellas, trying to stay dry.

As we approached them, one of the Tyger Claws looked over Cynthea's shoulder and spotted me. "Ah, Cynthea," he said. "And you've brought a friend with you."

Cynthea introduced me as an extra gun, but the Tyger Claw immediately knew that I was something special.

“I'm afraid your friend here is something special. That young man owes us a favor, and we’re cashing it in.”

I walked past Cynthea and proceeded to ask why I had to get involved in this.

The Tyger Claw explained, “We originally wanted you to do this, but you’ve been pretty difficult to find these past few days. Remember, we kept our word on upholding the truce with the Mox; it's now up to you to hold your word and help us with this minor problem we have.”

Reluctantly, I agreed to keep my word. The Tyger Claw handed me an envelope with the details and then drove off. Cynthea and I walked back to her car, still in shock about what had just happened.

"So, when were you going to tell me that you owed the Tyger Claws?" Cynthea asked.

"You never asked," I replied.

Cynthea didn't seem too pleased that I had kept this from her, but I explained the meeting I had weeks ago between myself, the Tyger Claws, and the Crimson Blades. I had managed to convince the Tyger Claws to lay off the Mox for a while, and in return, I had promised to do a favor for them. Now, it seemed like that favor was finally being called in, and I had no choice but to follow through.