Dad’s patrol car reeked of old cigarettes. Try as they might, the hundred-and-one, sun-warmed air fresheners stuck to his rearview mirror could only do so much. But besides the smell and the modern mega-tree, the interior was surprisingly clean.

Well-- there was a neat stack of folders on the passenger’s seat. Shay picked those up and sat them on her lap before buckling in.

“I can’t take you out for steak,” Dad said. “But I know a good rice bowl place near here-- locally owned. Healthy too.”

Shay smiled to herself. It was nice that she could rely on her dad, no matter what happened.

“I would’ve been happy even if you took me to Lizard Burger.”

“You mean, uh-- Dragon Burger?” Dad looked up in thought. “We... used to go there all the time-- you remember?”

“Psh, yeah,” Shay snorted quietly. “That’s why I said it.”

Dad stared ahead, but he pursed his lips like he was struggling to find something to say. He wasn’t great at talking, but... he was trying. That’s what mattered.

...Shay took in a deep breath.

“Dad... have you ever had problems... fitting in?”

“All the damn time,” Dad replied. “I’m Chinese in a predominantly White and Mexican profession. You wouldn’t believe how often my last name gets misspelled.”

“What? HoWww??” Shay started laughing. How could she not? “It’s just three letters-- same as mine and Mom’s.”

“No idea,” Dad shrugged... “Just... people ain’t used to it, I guess.”

“Maybe you should write your name using the hanzi?”

“Can’t do that,” Dad said. “I wouldn’t even recognize my own name after writing it.”

That was silly. Everything they were talking about was fun and silly. And... as nice as it was, it was avoiding everything that actually bothered her.

Shay leaned her head against the window.

“...You ever feel like... you’re not doing enough?”

The car went silent. The police radio crackled with some random call, but it must not have been important.

Dad rubbed his chin... really taking his time.

Finally, he said, “You’re a high-schooler, Shay-- you’re still just a kid.”

Really? All that time and that was the best he could come up with??

“Uh huh?” Shay pouted. “And what were you doing when you were 18, Dad?”

“Those were... different times,” he admitted quietly.

Dad didn’t have the easiest upbringing. According to him, anti-Chinese sentiment was a lot worse back when he was growing up. And like so many other immigrant families, the Chu’s were dirt poor. So from a very young age, Dad took every money-making opportunity he could just to survive.

Shay had faintly touched upon that kind of life. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Dad mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that?” Shay asked.

“I said... work’s not great for me right now, either.”

“How is that even possible?” Shay frowned, “You just transferred back-- and you’re a detective, not a regular beat cop, right?”

Dad sighed. “I might have rank, but... I dunno, Shay. At the station, there’s a bunch o’ loud-mouthed hotshots, half my age. Then there’s the older generation. And both groups have it out for guys like me-- guys who don’t care about the games and just wanna do their jobs.”

“Isn’t that enough?” Shay asked, “Doesn’t your boss at least appreciate that? Filling your quotas and stuff?”

“Where’d you hear that?” Dad frowned, “We don’t have quotas-- at least the Rancho PD doesn’t. You won’t believe how much petty crime just happens on a daily basis.”

Shay twisted her lips to the side. She did just see some guy run from the cops not twenty minutes ago-- guilty of something, probably.

She idly started flipping through the first folder in the stack.

Dad kept his eyes on the road as he made a wide left turn.

“Hey, brat, those are confidential documents.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have left them out, Detective,” Shay scoffed. “There’s... a lot of Korean names here.”

“Four out of fifteen,” Dad said. “Missing persons cases. Nothing to do with you, though.”

“So who benefits?” Shay asked innocently.

“Hmph. You lookin’ for a motive?” Dad groaned, “You trying to take my job, now?”

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Shay flipped back and forth on a few pages. “Two of them worked for Ilsung Electronics.”

“Two’s a coincidence, not a pattern.”

“And what does your gut feeling tell you?” Shay asked in a teasing tone.

“I’m an officer of the law, Shay,” Dad replied in a very professional manner. “Gut feelings aren’t enough to ask a judge for a warrant.”

Shay went on anyway. “So just how missing are these persons? Some of these reports mark them as... deceased?”

Dad rolled his eyes. “Again, nothing to do with you. Leave it alone, Shay. I’m sure you can read all about it in the Arkham Enquirer when those vultures get ahold of the story.”

Shay looked over at him, incredulous. “Are they gonna say aliens are abducting dead people?”

Dad’s mouth twitched-- but he didn’t say anything else.

“Wait, is that really what’s going on?” Shay asked.

“It’s not aliens,” he said.

“No-- I mean the dead people. Is there... a necromancer in South Archangel?”

Dad glanced over... “What, uh... what’s that?”

Shay kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t sure if there were any necromancers in Archangel, but if there were, she couldn’t talk about it because of her NDA.

But before Dad could ask any more, he pulled into the lot.

The rice bowl shop... it was one of Tyvan’s favorites.

“You’re really gonna like this place,” Dad said. “Ever since my-- uh... a guy I know introduced it to me, I wanted you to try it.”

Shay gave him her brightest smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

----------------------------------------

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Shay laid out all the groundwork.

She went by Aquila’s house to glance through all her business magazines. (Aki had subscriptions to basically everything.)

She called Grandpa’s secretary, Mrs. Fu, to ask for basic information on the biggest Korean businesses in the city.

And... most importantly, Shay went looking for Tyvan.

She was going to be investigating a missing persons case. So... when it came to doing anything even potentially dangerous, she was supposed to have a partner-- or she had to at least tell someone where she was going.

Shay entered the front office, fully expecting to see Raia. The desk was empty-- but the office wasn’t. There was someone sitting on the shiny, leather armchair in the corner.

She was gorgeous... and Japanese, maybe? Circular glasses and soft brown eyes. Bright, bubble-gum pink hair that flowed over her shoulders. She wore a loose, flowy top imprinted with silvery-blue clouds and a pair of shorts-- not too conservative, not too racy, but just right.

She... was another member of ❴The Kingdom❵. Shay had seen her before at the barbecue? No-- it was just a hang-out where they grilled outdoors. They didn’t talk, though. Oh, but the honey cake she made that day was absolutely delicious.

Sweet-- but not too sweet.

Her name was... ‘Ivy’ if Shay remembered correctly? She was engrossed in an encyclopedia-thick book filled with what looked like mathematical diagrams... and judging by the look on her face, she really didn’t want to be bothered.

But... Shay needed to find Tyvan, so she couldn’t help it.

“Um, excuse me? Hi. Ivy, right?”

Ivy glanced up for a moment before looking back at her book.

“Wowww~” she said, her flat voice matching her expression. “I didn’t know Tyvan hired a gEniuS.”

Shay wiggled her fingers before balling up her fists. That was freezing cold. But meeting mean, scary girls in the front office wasn’t extraordinary for her.

--also, Shay still needed information, so she had to put up with it.

“I’m actually looking for him right now. Do you know where he is?”

Ivy brushed her hand against her shoulder-- and somehow, a blue ribbon appeared, laced between her fingers.

Magic? That wasn’t... too surprising to see, considering all of Shay’s coworkers had unique and special powers. But there was an icy air of mystery around the magical Japanese girl that, combined with her unfriendly aura, made her a little intimidating.

Ivy used the ribbon as a bookmark before closing the heavy tome.

“What do you need, Xue?”

Shay blinked, hearing her Chinese name. That was weird to hear since everyone called her by her nickname-- even the super-polite Heidi. Oh, and even Tyvan!

“I uh... I wanted to ask Ty-- I mean, Mister Valorum for permission to research the Hongdai company.”

Ivy tilted her head down, staring dubiously over her glasses.

“Why would you need that guy’s permission to do something so simple? Can you like-- not think for yourself?”

Shay opened her mouth to retort-- but she stopped herself. The way Ivy phrased that... was basically saying, ‘Go ahead and do it.’ But it was also... really, really rude!!

Anyway, Shay was just a ‘Junior Analyst’! Getting permission for stuff was the obvious thing to do.

“Mister Valorum said we have a rule...”

Shay struggled to get the words out... and her voice had turned into a tiny squeak by the end. It was hard to talk to that person! It was like there was an inexplicable pressure in the room with no purpose other than to make her sound like an idiot.

Ivy waved her hand. “Don’t stop there. We have lots of rules.”

“I-- I dunno,” Shay said. “I have to have a battle-buddy or something?”

“So you’re like-- asking for a chaperone?” Ivy asked with a serious face. “Can you bring them back without any new holes?”

Shay felt her face heating up. “I won’t be doing anything dangerous!”

“RiiigGht~” Ivy said, adjusting her glasses and reopening her book. “I’ll let Tyvan know. Keep your snake pin with you and try not to do anything dumb.”

Was... that it?

Shay nodded, “S-sorry for bothering you.”

“Not as sorry as I am,” Ivy muttered.

That... didn’t sound like an apology, at all. And it definitely didn’t feel like one.

But it was fine! Shay got permission. She shot out a last ‘Thank you’ and hurried out of the office just in case Ivy had any last, biting remarks.