"Welcome to Ruben Town" read the sign at the entrance, almost as though it were customary to have that exact same message. True to its name, the town had a distinctly ruddy colour to its bricks and roads. It was certainly larger than Viren, and more populated, too. The houses were tall, two storeys high, with slanted roofs made of mahogany tiles. The town looked beautiful, with multiple different buildings and a lovely crimson hue, but somehow, there was a notable atmosphere permeating the area.

Indeed, as Scarlett walked down the roads, past the restaurants, inns and assorted stores, she could see people looking around as they talked. The looks in their eyes were almost cautious, their movements ever so subtly fidgety, as though they didn't trust the people they shared a town with. The blonde could pick up on little things like that, and it was nothing new to her. She had been here many times before, after all. She even felt a few eyes on her, and she was certain it wasn't just because of her revealing attire.

In her hands was a parcel full of something she hadn't dared to ask. She walked past this area, humming to take her mind off things as she walked around, looking around and seeing all the strangers around her. Among them, however, she saw a familiar face and immediately glowed up with a smile.

It was another woman, a couple of years older than her, with a half-awake look in her forest-green eyes. Her hair was short, scruffy and brown, and her baggy clothes consisted of a green hoodie and trainers with brown slacks. Her skin was noticeably pale, too. All in all, she was considerably more masculine than Scarlett, who was girly and liked to show it.

Holding the package in one hand, she waved excitedly as she ran towards the other woman, who didn't notice her as she stood in front of what looked like a clothing store. Seemingly dazed, she didn't seem to notice Scarlett until the latter was right in front of her. "Valerie!"

Looking at Scarlett, who was somewhat shorter than her, Valerie rubbed her eyes and offered a feeble wave. "Ah, Scarlett, what's up?" she greeted, her raspy voice taking on a faint brogue accent.

Scarlett stood up straight, holding the parcel in a cradling position as her voice quieted to just barely above a whisper. "Coyote gave me this package." she said. "I've got to deliver it to Galileo. The last guy assigned to this job lost the package, apparently."

"The fuck? How the hell did he just lose a package like that?" Valerie's eyebrow shot up skeptically. "Maybe he tossed it, or maybe it was stolen - but, eh."

The green-clad girl decided then and there that she couldn't be arsed to keep speculating. Not her circus, not her monkey, she thought. "That aside, what's in it, anyway?"

"I didn't ask." Scarlett shrugged. "But, given my dad's...trade, I guess we can make an assumption."

"Yeah, that's not unsettling at all." Valerie deadpanned. "Much as I'd love to stay and chat, I do have some free time to enjoy. Wouldn't wanna spend it delaying your delivery."

"Right, of course!" Scarlett grinned, before clearing her throat. "You know...I've been given another mission."

"A capture mission, no doubt." Valerie commented. "Since that's kinda your speciality."

"Yeah...I've gotta catch this white-haired guy, says the boss." Scarlett said, catching the subtle widening of Valerie's eyes and raising an eyebrow in response. "Something wrong?"

"Huh? No, it's nothing." Valerie shook her head, clearing her throat and looking off to the side. "Anyway, I've kept you long enough. Wouldn't want to keep your dad waiting, would you?"

Scarlett eyed her friend suspiciously, but at that last sentence, she had to concede that she had a point. Not to mention, if she did know anything, she was hiding it, and she didn't want to risk angering her by poking and prodding. Sighing, she nodded quickly, and with another cheerful smile, she began to walk away. "You're absolutely right! Guess I'll talk to you later, then!"

"Right. Have a good one."

Valerie offered a short wave as she watched Scarlett leave. Once she was gone, the short-haired woman looked up to the clouded sky, sighing.

.........

"So, I'm to understand that you've been poking your nose where it doesn't belong, no?"

In what appeared to be a dimly-lit shed, dusty and brick-coloured, littered with mysterious boxes and smelling strangely of ashes, there stood two men. One of whom was sitting in a large metal chair, his arms tied with very tight, glowing handcuffs to the armrests. His quivering body and sweating face made it clear he was wrought with terror.

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Which the other man seemed to relish. Standing before the clearly unwillingly-seated everyman was a tall fellow in his early forties, his arms folded behind him and his otherwise dispassionate face making a subtle smirk. His hair was blond, styled in a fancy quiff, and his apathetic eyes, dark orange in colour, scanned his victim most thoroughly. Looking somewhat youthful for his age, he was clean-shaven and handsome, sharply dressed in his suit; a red blazer and matching trousers compounding a white shirt with thin red vertical lines underneath - partially unbuttoned due to the conspicuous lack of a tie.

The suited man watched as his victim - a seemingly ordinary man in his late twenties, shook his head rapidly, vainly struggling against his restraints. "I didn't do-"

"There's no need to be so scared. I'm simply worried for you." the suited man said calmly, gesturing towards him. "I'm sure you know the old saying - curiosity killed the cat! And you, my friend, are looking awfully feline these days."

He began pacing from left to right, keeping his eyes on the defiant captive as he moved. "Don't think your little espionage went unnoticed." he said, with a voice that could be described as many things - but mostly taunting. "While you sulked around with catlike tread, pawing about at every yarn of truth you could find, the group you were looking into kept as many tabs on you as vice versa!" he said, stopping in front of the man and leaning closer. "But you overstepped your boundaries and went after the fat cats! Next thing I know, I've got a report from my spies! I go to my base of operations, and look what the cat dragged in!"

The man in the chair growled angrily at that, while the smirk on the other man's face grew. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Fuck you..." the captive snarled. "I knew you were one of those Libera assholes. Geography teacher my ass!"

"I do know a bit of geography. I could tell you all about Erdeland's geopolitical situation if I wanted to." the man stood back, shrugging casually. "But, alas, the cat's out of the bag. And what can you do about that?"

Whether it was from the tired cat jokes or from the taunting assessment that, right now, there was nothing he could do, the man in the chair gave a painful groan, glaring at the increasingly-amused Libera asshole. "What are you gonna do with me, then?" he spat. "Torture me?"

"Much as I'd love to, I'm afraid this is a rather urgent matter. Can't have anyone finding you." was the calm, smug response. "I really, really would have liked to keep you around longer, but you know what they say: a cat in gloves catches no mice."

At once, he stepped further back to make sure the door was completely closed, and then he snapped his fingers, watching as a glowing sigil appeared beneath the chair - a white circle, with the constellation of Phoenix inside it. Before the man could react, a roaring pillar of white flames erupted from it, engulfing the man and the chair. Though he could seemingly withstand the heat, after a while the sound of glass shattering could barely be heard over the flames. Then came the blood-curdling screams, so loud and nightmarish that the Libera asshole would have covered his ears if he weren't closing his eyes and stoically listening.

The moment the screaming stopped, the man snapped his fingers and the fire faded away. He opened his eyes to find a well-cooked corpse and the smell of burning flesh permeating the air. Sighing, he opened his palm, summoning to hand a stiletto with a mahogany blade and walking towards the corpse.

"My, what a shame you are." he told him, twirling his knife. "Let's at least hope your organs are still intact..."

.........

Now returning to the house that the shed belonged to, he barely had time to take in his familiar, cosy surroundings before he heard a loud knock on the door. Already standing in the hallway, he calmly strolled over to the door and opened it. There, on the other side, he saw Scarlett standing with a parcel in her hands and a smile on her face.

"Hey, da-" she began, before clearing her throat and standing up straight, taking a bow. "Galileo."

"Hello, my daughter." Galileo looked down at her with a smile that did not reach his eyes. He eyed her, noticing that before him, she seemed to be nervous, noticing her slight trembling. And when he laid eyes on the package in her hands, he himself became more genuinely enthusiastic. "I see you have a delivery."

"Yep! I was told to give this to you." Scarlett replied, handing the parcel to him, which he gently took. "Sorry on behalf of the last guy. I know you've been waiting for this for a while..."

"As long as I have it now." Galileo responded, taking the package in one hand and leaning forward, using the other to gently ruffle her hair, causing her to beam brightly, blushing a little. "You've done well, Scarlett."

"Hehe, thanks!" she giggled, clearly over the moon even as he stopped and stepped away from her. Smiling happily at him, she held her hands behind her back.

"Do you have anywhere else to be?" Galileo raised an eyebrow, his gaze becoming colder again, which Scarlett either didn't pick up on or intentionally ignored.

"Yeah! I've got to capture someone for the boss." Scarlett replied, nodding quickly. "It seemed important, so I'm gonna do my best!"

"Good. You wouldn't want to return to her empty-handed." Galileo said, beginning to turn around and glancing back at her. "Hurry along now."

"I'll keep you updated!" Scarlett gave a salute, beginning to walk away as Galileo closed his door, taking a deep breath as he stared at it.

"An important capture, is it? I doubt it's the doctor himself, but I do wonder just who it could be..." he murmured, before turning away from the door and stepping further into his empty hallway, with its dark red walls containing many wooden doors, all of which he ignored except the one at the very back.

That one, he opened and stepped inside, revealing a spacious room with a few besuited individuals inside, seemingly hard at work as they packed strange pills into small, portable red boxes. Stepping into the room with the delivery in hand, he looked around closely, returning to his usual calm disposition.

"...oh well. Back to work."