The armored van slowed as it approached the apartment complex.
Nightcoil, seated in the back, finally spoke.
"How did you even get information on where she was staying?"
Marlin didn't look at him when he answered.
"The Nightcrew has… unorthodox methods of getting information."
he paused.
"Some of them are illegal."
Shadow parked a short distance away from the building. The engine cut, and the city's neon hum rushed in around them.
"Move."
They exited the vehicle and blended into foot traffic, passing under flickering lights and cracked holo-ads. The apartment building looked ordinary, too ordinary.
They reached the door.
Shadow glanced at Nightcoil.
"Check the surroundings. Make sure there are no witnesses."
Nightcoil nodded and slipped away into the shadows, scanning the street and rooftops.
Kess knelt at the door, tools already in hand.
"Lock's cheap."
He worked quickly, then paused to scan the interior through the frame.
"Checking for cameras."
A soft click.
The door opened.
They slipped inside and closed it behind them.
Shadow turned to Nightcoil as he rejoined them.
"Cover the windows."
Curtains were pulled. Blinds closed.
Kess and Marlin began moving through the apartment, methodical and silent.
Kess stopped in the kitchen.
"There's warm food here."
He frowned.
"No sign of her."
Marlin checked the bedroom.
"Looks like she packed up and left. Fast, but not panicked."
Kess exhaled sharply.
"See? I told you not to give them the IDs."
Shadow didn't look at him.
"It wouldn't have mattered. IDs or a fight, either way, they would've known something was off."
Kess picked up a datapad from the desk, turning it over.
"Data's wiped. Whoever we're dealing with is smart."
He crouched lower.
"And there's blood."
Nightcoil looked at Shadow.
Shadow's jaw tightened.
"This is bad. We need to move, and fast."
Kess nodded.
"If someone wiped the datapad, this wasn't a panic evacuation. They had time. Whoever took her planned this."
He scanned the room carefully, collecting what little forensic evidence remained.
"Got a fingerprint. Sending it to HQ. Let's see if they get anything."
They exited the apartment just as quietly as they'd entered and returned to the van.
Shadow slid into the driver's seat.
"HQ get back to you yet?"
Kess checked his datapad.
"Yeah. No match. Whoever this is, they're clean. Or protected."
Shadow's eyes narrowed.
"Food's still warm. She couldn't have been gone long."
He thought for a moment.
"If I had to guess, they moved her to either a warehouse or a gang safehouse. Those are the only places that make sense."
Shadow launched a small reconnaissance drone into the sky. It vanished upward, cloaked and silent.
"Scanning the surrounding area for our target."
Minutes passed.
Then the datapad pinged.
Kess leaned forward.
"Got her. Small, one-story house. Residential sector, low traffic."
Shadow started the engine.
"Then that's where we're going."
The van pulled into traffic, neon lights reflecting across its surface as Noctyrr Prime closed in around them.
They were no longer investigating.
They were hunting.