Mr. Keratás’s legs walked over to the desk, lightly dragging against the ground as if he didn’t have enough energy even to lift them. Ever so slowly, as if to mock my pitiful attempts to hide underneath the desk, he sat down at the chair. It squeaked as his weight bore down on it, the wheels slightly rolling thanks to the sudden force.

He didn’t scoot in though, which would’ve been a surefire way of finding me. Instead, he seemed to lean back into the chair and let his legs hang loosely as if he were trying to lie down in the chair. Yet another sigh came, causing my heartbeat to accelerate as his leg twitched in my direction.

I held my breath, fear causing the air to sting at my lungs like ice. Adrenaline pumped through my system, forcing my heart to strike against my chest loud enough that it was surprising the guy couldn’t hear it. With that adrenaline rush came that raw force of excitement I was so addicted to crashing throughout my body.

A yawn came next; a long, carefree yawn as if he didn’t have anything in the world to care about. It was the kind of yawn I could just envision him practically cracking his jaw as he opened his mouth too far, sending a reverberating pitch against my ears.

I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to follow suit. He sat there for a minute. Two. Three. Each second that passed felt longer than the last, and my heart only seemed to accelerate even faster. Thankfully, something changed after nearly five minutes of him leaning back in his chair.

A loud ringtone came from the room, nearly causing me to jolt from the surprise. Up above, oblivious to the fact he was literally sitting on top of me, Mr. Keratás sighed once more. “No rest for the wicked…” He mumbled.

A low chatter came across the line, one I barely caught. It sounded like maybe the guy Mr. K talked to as he came into the office. “She… here… now.”

“Fine- fine… I’m coming. Have her come through the back entrance. The front is too slick with oil. I’ll be right there. Oh, and tell the men to clear out of the Robotics Garage and other staff rooms. I don’t care where they go, but they can’t stay here.”

Mr. Keratás sighed once more, standing up. His feet tapped against the floor as he headed for the door. It swung open, then closed, leaving me alone in the darkness once more.

I took a deep breath, relaxing into the little alcove under the desk. No way that actually worked. It was such a dumb spot! Still, I didn’t move yet. Mr. K said the men would clear out, so I patiently waited under the desk for ten minutes to give them time to clear out.

In that time, Clarence sent a reply. I nearly thumped my head against the table as the notification made me jump. ‘Where at? Sir Abernathy personally wants to lead a strike team to apprehend the culprit.’

A strike team? Seemed a little overkill to apprehend a blackmailer… Still, it would rapidly finish up this gig if he did. ‘Fisher’s Diner, tonight. I’ll be there.’

After enough time passed, I crawled out from under the desk and made my way over to the door. Pressing my ear to it, I heard nothing. No clanks of machinery, no tools clattering about, and no subtle conversations of workers. Best I could tell, the room sat dead silent.

Carefully, so as not to make too much noise or movement, I pulled open the door. The garage sat in near complete darkness, only illuminated by the occasional terminal or charging station.

I made my way to the garage door-

Wait… I looked back at the scattered parts and pieces all around the area. The cameras were supposedly out, and even if they weren’t the Advent Ghost had the feature scrubber built into it, so nobody would come after me if some parts went missing.

The temptation rose as I spotted everything out for grabs. Some high-end pieces would be a pain in the rear to get elsewhere. My foot reflexively took a step towards the precious loot glinting in the poor lighting. That's all it took before I ravenously dove back towards the tables. Several parts and pieces that wouldn’t be missed disappeared into my bag.

‘Course, I didn’t just take anything and everything. I was careful to take the purely mechanical stuff so as to avoid any kind of hidden tracker. As I stuffed my bag full of parts and pieces, I numbly made my way back through the store and out to my bike. No one was around, all probably kicked out or greeting this Netrunner, so it was by far the easiest escape I’ve potentially ever had as I headed home.

Fisher’s Diner was on the fourth story of a small building west of the Corporate Quarter in Portside. The building sat fairly close to the ocean, allowing a view of it. Rather- it would’ve if not for the highway built over this section of the city. One of the several support pillars just so happened to be right in front of the diner’s window, blocking the view.

Still, the owner hadn’t taken that sitting down. The pillar was painted expertly to look like how the view should’ve been- at least, it had been at some point. Years of exposure and graffiti hid the original painting from view, giving the whole area a ghetto vibe.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

And indeed, that was a fitting word for Portside. It wasn’t as bad as East End, but everything in this section - outside of the Marinas, Yacht Clubs, and Shipping Yards - was in a state of decay. In a couple more decades? Portside might grow to be another East End.

Then again… maybe not. There were plenty of things in Portside that brought the population of Aythryn City to it, so there was a near-constant flow of money similar to Little Yukoto.

Portside was home to the city’s Urban Brawl league, the Slashers Stadium, and a variety of other entertainment. Sure there were the hotspots like Ichiban and Rime Peak Lounge, but those were simply hotspots. There was a lot to do in Portside, which kept the money flowing through the area. It was really only away from the main areas and roads that things degraded so much.

I sat in a corner booth, alongside several other people. The lights for this booth had been set on dim, setting a low light level and obscuring us from any casual observation.

”Is this- is this really necessary?” I asked the people around me. Mr. Abernathy, Clarence, and two bodyguards sat around the table.

Mr. Abernathy set down his fork. “Of course. Can’t be too sure.”

I looked around at the other patrons, almost all of whom were incredibly buff. Although they were hidden pretty well, I also spotted several different kinds of weapons hidden under their clothes. A few of them even looked a bit familiar. Maybe from Ishimaru? He had a revolving door of mercs, so maybe? “I guess… seems a bit over the top.”

”This much is required to ensure Sir’s safety in case the blackmailer gets violent.” Clarence skillfully delivered a plate of fresh fish before his boss. And not the cheap stuff from Fisher’s Diner, but what looked to be real fish.

”Sure.” I sat back in the booth, feeling a bit… stupid. Here I was, a lowly investigator kinda, surrounded by mercs and a bigwig from ASCorp for a lowly blackmailing.

We sat around for nearly a quarter of an hour before a woman entered the restaurant. Although thick clothing clung to her and her face hid under a low hood, I recognized her. Yasmine.

Across from me, Albert Abernathy stilled. “Yasmine? She said she had dinner with friends…”

Similarly, I froze up. I thought he had been saying Yasmine this entire time, but did he mean Jasmine with a wonky pronunciation? That would fit the ‘J’ moniker. She definitely had the means to set up the blackmail. And the motive, if her personality was anything to go by. She was a right old-

“But why?” Mr. Abernathy stood, and immediately the mercs all over the restaurant, which surprisingly included even the wait staff, stood too, blocking the entries. Seriously overkill, but I couldn’t deny the effect.

Jasmine’s face crumpled for a brief moment before twisting. “Albert! What is this? Are you following me now too?!”

“Wha- Yasmine? Were you the one? But why?” Albert cried out.

For a moment, it looked as though she would deny it. Then her face twisted into a malicious snarl. “You cheated on me and had a kid with another woman-“

Or at least, that’s what I thought she said. I was too busy wading through the array of over-the-top mercenaries. My job was done, and I really couldn’t be bothered to deal with listening to the drama. I was a bit tempted to find out what exactly was going on, but I could put the pieces together on my own.

Christopher was obviously Mr. Abernathy’s son, even though he looked nothing like the guy, which explained why he was taken care of so well. It also explained why Leanara had her entire funeral paid for if she was Mr. A’s mistress. This then brings motive; Jasmine was pissed about the whole affair and sought retribution. Best way to do that? Blackmail? Bam, case solved.

It wasn’t the most rational idea considering pulling the rug out from Mr. Abernathy would also cripple her own stream of income, at least from what he told me of their family dynamic. Then again, there was that saying ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’. Fury can be quite crippling to rationality.

I sent a message to Clarence containing the information of Mr. Keratás as I headed out the door to the building. He replied with a ‘Thank you. Mr. Abernathy will remember this favor' and a notification that fifteen hundred Rayn had been deposited into my account. Tomorrow was rent day, so the money was definitely nice to have.

On my way to my bike, the interface popped up into my vision.'

「Tracking - 4>5」

「Stealth - 7>8」

「Perception - 4>5」

「Intimidation - 1>2」

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox’s Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

Skill Points: 1

Tracking - 5

* Stalk

Tech - 5

* Eidetic Schematic

Stealth - 8

* Fox’s Paw

* 1 Perk Point

Sleight of Hand - 8

* Hidden Hands

* Ambidextrous

Perception - 5

* Aetherial Perception

Net - 2

Melee Weapons - 1

Intimidation - 2

Firearm - 3

First Aid - 3

Evasion - 2

Driving - 7

* Land Vehicles

Deception - 5

* Honest Face

Criminology - 5

* Cues

Concealment - 8

* Lethargic Presence

* Hidden Weapon

Brawling - 1

Accounting - 1

Request Board - (1)」

Stealth finally went up? That threw a wrench into my plans. Originally, I wanted to spend my Skill Point on it, but now? Hmm…

I looked through the list several times as I headed home. Nothing in particular stood out to me, and I was half tempted to just save the point for a rainy day… but then it wouldn’t be doing me any good. The two-day KO took out any reason to try and save them. By the time I would need a Perk or Skill Point, I wouldn’t have time to be out of the game for a couple days. It was unfortunate, but not really an issue, I guess. I just need to only take on what I know I can handle.

By the time I arrived home, I decided to just go with Tech again. It was the best option and one that had proven itself useful ever since I first picked it up. For now, it was a safe point sink till it got up to level eight at least. And, I found no small joy in the act of creating something, even something as simple as the Doctor Absolom figurines. It was... therapeutic, almost?

I took a quick shower, drank some of Jack’s Sun Kicker, which tasted strongly of oranges, and laid down on my soft bed. For a moment, I wondered if it was right to just go back into the interface and lock myself up all willy-nilly after my psychotic break, but then that worry faded as I popped the Skill Point into Tech.