I followed him into the lounge, unmolested as I felt the glares of bystanders turn to envious stares. We passed through a frankly massive room with hundreds of waiters and several bars serving food and drinks as if they were free. Execs and other 'higher' walks of life were out and about with borged-out bodyguards following them around like puppies. Chrome which looked too new to even exist was everywhere. I guess that's why they didn't search me- everyone here was strapped. Pulling a gun would be suicidal.

And of course, the attire was out of this world. About half of the present people wore fancy tuxedos and dresses like we were in the most formal event of the century. Then there was the quarter that looked like Edgerunners and Mercs dressed in everything from freakin’ power armor to flamboyant and far too frilly clothes. The last bit hurt to even think of a description for the frankly chaotic nature of their clothing.

The servant guided me to an elevator, easily bypassing the couple dozen guards blocking the elevators like ferocious bears lurking in their dens. As soon as we stepped in, the servant hit a button and we zipped upward. The indicator on the elevator whipped through the numbers as the nightclub music blared through hidden speakers. In what felt like seconds, we moved from floor one to one forty-three, and then out into a maze of corridors.

My guide must’ve had a map pulled up in his HUD because it was a maze in the truest sense of the word. There were twists and turns everywhere, and extravagant doors each with their own style and look. The guards' presence was far lower up here, though I spotted a few moving around every once in a while.

The servant stopped in front of a particular door. A massive moon was painted on the door, and the frame was done as if it were a massive ice wolf wrapped around the door. He lightly knocked on it. “Miss Shiro is here.”

A moment later, Iris appeared at the door with a rather broad grin on her face. “Shiro!” She flicked her hand at the servant, and he bowed before disappearing back down the hallway. “C’mon in, beanstalk!” She didn’t give me a moment to breathe as she locked an arm around my shoulder and dragged me into the room.

It was a rather large room centered around a massive half-moon couch. Everything here was done in dark and blue, and lights moved about as if they were sliding on ice. The couch itself was centered around a massive coffee table covered in blueprints and sheets of paper. A frankly imposing window took up the entire wall, looking out onto the entire west side of the city and the ocean beyond. It would’ve been breathtaking if I had to breathe to take-

My breath was stolen from my lungs by a- man? It was hard to tell exactly. He was by far the most imposing thing in the room, and his presence alone made me want to back out of the room.

The guy, if I could even call him that, was quite unusual. He was some kind of werewolf exotic, and I couldn’t be sure if it was thanks to HMV or implants. He had a feral light to his eyes that reminded me of a predatorial gaze, and I would be a fool not to notice his hair standing on end as he glared at me. His blue-eyed glare wasn’t all hatred though; there was a protective light in it, as if he was protecting something extremely valuable.

His fur was a rich black covering him from what looked like snout to paw. Chrome, done in black as if to blend in with his fur, covered him in enough quantities to look like a borg if he was human-sized. Deadly claws sat at the ends of his lupine-warped hands, looking as though they could eviscerate me in a moment. The borg werewolf’s long ears twitched around in obvious unease as he shifted ever so slightly. He wore clothing in the vein of techwear but sized up several times to match his massive frame.

A man, this one far more normal, sat on the opposite side of the couch surrounded by bottles. He wore the typical Vanguard Style I would match a higher-end merc with. Techwear basically with enough layers to prevent a small blade from hitting skin on the first try, a thick plate carrier, and pads on his joints that he probably didn’t even notice. An impossibly dark shemagh wrapped around his neck like a scarf.

A bandolier of wands fell from around his neck, and I counted at least five. An Adept, then. Magus don’t use wands, so it's always easy to tell. Especially since any Adept worth their salt carries a wand. Or several in this guy’s case, but they were super expensive so having more than one was weird.

Wands weren’t strictly required for an Adept to use magic; at least, from my limited understanding. They could cast magic through a usually long and exhaustive process like what I caught that one Adept doing when I hunted down the Parkers. Wands were like quick magic. They already had a favored ‘spell’ built into them and could be instantly cast like the Ice Sword once they were bound to an owner. ‘Course, bound wands break when their Adepts die.

He didn’t have any chrome- at least any visible chrome. I wouldn’t be surprised if his body was entirely natural. Magic tended to go wrong when interacting with the chrome in a person’s body, so most magically attuned people strayed away from it and other forms of artificial enhancement.

Iris stepped forward and tossed a pillow at the werewolf’s face- snout? “Stop trying to scare Shiro, Kaynis.”

“Fine.” The werewolf said, his voice deep and rich gravely, as he swatted the pillow out of the air. His claws shredded the thing to pieces, covering the couch in bits of fluff. He growled and then looked away from me, settling back down on the couch as I approached their setup.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The Adept looked at me as Iris hopped over the back of the couch and sat down. “This is your ‘great’ investigator?”

“Shove off, River. Don’t be a dick. C’mon! Take a seat, Shiro. They won’t bite… probably.” Iris waved me over and patted the couch next to her.

I hesitantly walked over and sat down just in time to hear the werewolf- Kaynis speak. “What are you wearing, pup?”

“T-they’re borrowed clothes… I’ve been in the Underground and d-didn’t have time to change…” Immediately a blush rose to my cheeks.

Iris laughed and slapped me on the shoulder hard enough to knock me off the seat as she laughed. “Well, you look cute, choom! And you don’t reek! Bonus points. Better than the last time we had to venture down there.”

“T-thanks.”

Insight triggered, and my gaze involuntarily snapped to the werewolf. More accurately, a frail girl tucked behind his fur and chrome-covered side. She looked as if she would collapse at any moment, and yet her blue gaze held a strength that was odd to see as she stared at me. How come I didn’t notice her before?

The werewolf shifted, and the girl was hidden from view once more. Protective father? It would make sense. No sense in poking the bear- er, wolf. I quickly looked away. “S-so, this photo?”

“Right!” Iris popped up and raced to one of the side doors at a speed that far surpassed the human limit. “I’ll be right back! Don’t be mean, especially you, fur-face.”

There was silence for a moment before the Adept ruined it. “You sure you can find a clue? Iris vouched for you, but you don’t look like much.”

I felt aggression- one probably brought on by my tenseness and far too much caffeine. “What are you supposed to be? The crew’s joytoy?”

“Why you-”

Kaynis’s deep, guttural laughter cut off the Adept. I met his gaze- his glare? Was he always glaring? He winced and twitched as the frail girl rammed her elbow into his side. “I-I appreciate you helping Iris with her… project.”

“No problem.” I rubbed at the back of my head and stared out at the city’s expanse beyond the window, ignoring River’s glare. It was such a beautiful view; one that very few people in the city could claim to have seen. I felt like someone important as I stared out, and I wasn’t even on the highest floor. I could see why execs got so full of themselves.

“Ah, but it was. She left without asking any of us for help… her moniker stands true.” The werewolf’s snout was odd to watch as a mostly human voice came from his terrifying maw.

I adjusted my sitting position, forcing back the desire to start bobbing my leg. “Her moniker?”

“I Require Intense Supervision.” River chuckled off to the side, seemingly letting go of his ire as he drank straight out of a bottle. “Luna came up with that one.”

Hmm… maybe the girl was Luna? Even the name kinda fits considering Kaynis was basically a werewolf. Based on the overall attitude of the room, probably best not to ask too much. I wouldn’t want to end up with a claw through my heart or something because of his apparent protectiveness. It was an irrational fear, sure, but the last thing I needed was a borged-out werewolf hunting me down.

Thankfully, Iris returned shortly after with a data slate. She hopped over the couch, causing the material to creak as she slid in next to me and handed the slate over. “Here. Check these out.”

I grabbed the slate, suppressing a chuckle as River nearly fell off the couch. That chuckle immediately died in my throat as I looked down at the pictures. A chill settled on my spine, and intense paranoia wormed its way into my brain. The pictures were of the crash site oh so long ago. They looked to be shortly after I left, and several Hawks were tearing into it-

Iris shook my shoulder. “Hey, you good?”

I took a deep breath and forced myself to remain calm. There were no cameras or anything out there, so the chances were microscopic that they traced anything back to me. Probably just a coincidence. I hope. I really hope. “Uh- yeah… sorry, just zoned out.”

“Right, you said you were tired on the phone… anyway, like I was saying, any bit of info will help out immensely.”

I flipped through the dozen or so pictures. “What’s this all about? I’d like to help, but I need some more background info.”

Iris met Kaynis’s stare. The wolfman himself rubbed at his furry chin- snout? After a moment, his deep voice escaped his inhuman form. “Hmm… It's not like it's a secret… Sentinel Corp. put a twenty million bounty on a briefcase from that wreckage. Any hint of where to find what we're looking for, and we’ll pay you. If it leads to us actually finding the briefcase, then we’ll pay you one percent.”

Fuck fuck fuck. Twenty million Rayn! Maybe I should just turn it over myself- no, I'll get killed for even daring to look at the research. It was far easier to silence a lone and poorly equipped teenager than a crew of Edgerunners… I'm fucked. Okay, play it smooth Shiro. “Alright.”

I looked down at the slate again as I tried to plan. Part of me wanted to just say nothing, but that would waste the trip and throw my shaky networking chance into the dumpster. It was best I revealed as much as I could without giving myself away. Being in the graces of a whole Edgerunner crew, especially one strong enough to have their own residence in the Rime Peak Lounge, would be invaluable. Heck, I was already going to get paid five hundred Rayn for the shortest gig I’ve ever taken. Okay... how do I-

“See, she won’t be able to-”

“Shut. The fuck. Up. River.” Iris’s hair flared red as she glared at the man.