Hey, everyone! Alex Redding's back around, poking his nose into a brand new mess featuring everyone's favorite animatronic band!

Yes, it's a new long-term Alex Redding story, this one following the former guard turned PI in a rather... Awkward situation.

Regarding update schedule: this story is going to be updated every other week, alternating with my other story - Into the Rift. So next Friday you can expect a chapter of Rift, and the week after more of this.

Tinkering with a few new writing styles for this story, let me know what you think!

On with the show!


I let out an exhausted sigh as I finally came back in the house. It had been a long day, and I was dead-tired; even after all the time both pulling night shifts back on the police force as well as my week at Freddy Fazbear's, I still exit late nights feeling like something the cat would refuse to touch on principle. Stretching out, I walked in the house and checked the time. It was almost 3 AM; I'd called in at midnight and told the others to not bother waiting up, so with a yawn I set my coat and hat aside. Cleaning up would have to wait until later, because all I wanted right now was my bed.

As I staggered down the hall, I thought over the events of the day. It had been one heck of a starter… I had just gotten hired on with the Open Eyes private investigation firm; with my track record as well as my reputation from the incident around two months ago, I figured I was a shoo-in for the job and I was right. I'd been hired within the weekend, and was working as an assistant on several larger scale cases, as well as covering smaller-scale ones. Most of it was simple; cheating partners, business associates screwing each other out of money, minor level stuff. That was two weeks ago.

Yesterday, I had just settled in and finished paperwork for one of these low-end cases when a client came in. He introduced himself as Richard Matthews, and he had a case for me…

Richard Matthews sat down across from me. I sized him up; he was an older gentleman, somewhat portly, with a head of black hair. Judging by the fact that only the sides had silver streaks, I'd be very surprised if it wasn't a toupee, but that wasn't my business. "Mr… Redding, was it?" I nodded, gesturing for him to speak while I subtly turned my recorder on. This could be just another boring case, but considering how nervous he looked…

"Mr. Redding, I represent a fairly important corporate entity that is very concerned regarding its standings in the public sector, especially considering recent events." I rolled my eyes; this guy was a real character… "Our business thrives primarily on repeat customers and secondarily on corporate reputation, so we aren't too keen on any kind of loose ends regarding… Incidents." Judging by the way that he was dancing around the subject, I figured this was going to be one heck of an 'incident', so I sat forward. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, his gaze shifting around the office. "Mr. Redding, is this room secure?"

I sighed; another guy who thinks every room is bugged. Probably a conspiracy theorist… I've dealt with them before. I waved him on. "This place is airtight, Mr. Matthews. Just you, me, and the dust." And my recorder, but he didn't need to know that.

He exhaled a sigh of relief and mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. "Excellent. Then I may take you into full confidence. Mr. Redding… I represent Golden Mile Animatronics. Are you familiar with us?"

I froze solid for a long moment. Golden Mile? Those were the guys that provided animatronics and animatronic repairs to amusement parks nationwide. And if memory serves, one of their clients was the late Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

"Of course you must be familiar with us, Mr. Redding. After all, you have a reputation; the sole force behind cutting the 'Drone Incident' of two months ago short! You're a hero, Mr. Redding… And you have intimate knowledge of the animatronics in question. You see…" He lowered his voice, leaning across the desk. I was starting to feel more than a bit nervous at this point as he continued. "You see… There is a rather large loose end in this case. The official police reports showed that all four of the original animatronics were disassembled in the final conflict, however my superiors believe differently. We have it on good authority that the serial numbers of these animatronics do not match those of the original four performers of Freddy Fazbear's. Quite simply, Mr. Redding… We are missing four murderous animatronics."

My jaw dropped. How in the heck did Golden Mile find the serial numbers? Last I knew, they were all under police custody pending the class action suit against Fazbear Entertainment. How did they find them? For that matter, why did Golden Mile even care? The lawsuit was against Fazbear's, not their company. Taking my confusion for shock, Matthews continued.

"Of course, this is unacceptable to my superiors, and the decision was made to locate the four missing animatronics and… Dispose of them. For the common safety, of course; you know firsthand of their abilities, and their deadly tendencies."

A flash of memory; Bonnie peering into the backstage camera, black eyes staring into me. I nodded, but couldn't help shifting uncomfortably; how did they know? I had to ask.

"So, why call me? Why not just report to the police that the four they have aren't the original four? They're in charge of the Freddy's investigation and lawsuit."

Matthews shifted uncomfortably. "Erm, you see… Contacting the authorities is not an option at present, Mr. Redding. We would like to keep our names as far away from the incident as possible. Why, it was only because we cross-referenced our order lists with the four located that we discovered they were not the originals. And, since there are four killer machines currently unaccounted for, we would like to solve the problem quickly and effectively. Now, regarding your fee…" He changed the subject pretty quickly there… "We are willing to pay you your current hourly fee plus expenses, including a bonus should you locate all four animatronics within a month." I paused for a moment. Why a month?

I had to think for a moment about this one. Something seemed off about this... Mr. Faz had told me everything was taken care of, and we shouldn't have any issues with people looking for the bots. It could be tricky… On the other hand, there was something about this I didn't trust. Why was Golden Mile getting involved?

It only took me a bit more thinking before I nodded. "You have yourself a deal, Mr. Matthew. I'll need any files you can send me about the missing animatronics; serial numbers, programming data, anything you can find."

He hesitated, then nodded quickly. "Some of the files are proprietary, however I'll see how much I can send for you. I appreciate you taking this case on, Mr. Redding…" He nodded, and I handed him the standard contract. I sat back, thinking for a moment as he filled it out…

So Golden Mile was looking for the original four animatronics. Seems like they're trying to make sure they don't get in any trouble from the drone incident… But why would they? The suit's against Fazbear's. I shook the thought off; that would come later.

"By the way, Mr. Redding? One final note." Matthews spoke again, getting my attention. "The animatronics were equipped with GPS devices shortly after having their AIs installed. They went offline shortly after their free roaming mode was disabled after 1987, however we've been making efforts towards remotely reactivating the trackers. If we can, we'll let you know as soon as possible." He passed the signed contract into my suddenly-frozen hand.

So the others had GPS units, and Golden Mile was trying to turn them on? That… Could be bad. My mind was racing at this point; just earlier today, coming into the office, I had seen at least three protest groups shouting for the strict control – if not banning – of artificial intelligence on their scale. This could be interesting. I looked up as Matthews was leaving the office, one final question on my mind.

"Hey, answer me this if you can…" He stopped and looked at me. "Why the concern over their location? It's been two months, and we haven't heard word of any new incidents. Maybe they just ran out of power and shut down."

The stare he gave me was one of the most laughable attempts to be intimidating that I'd ever seen. I returned it with one of my own, and instead of answering the question Matthews muttered a "Goodbye, Mr. Redding…" And walked out.

I kicked my legs up on my desk, my mind racing at this point. So Golden Mile was looking for the original four… The four I currently had living at home. And they were doing it to 'take care of loose ends'… They even promised a bonus if I found them within a mo-Waiiiit…

I checked my calendar; sure enough, next month was the hearings for the suit. Idly, I wondered if Golden Mile was just worried about having their name dragged into this by Fazbear Entertainment; considering how stubbornly they were able to hush up both the five murdered children, the Bite, and all the dead security guards I couldn't blame them.

I shrugged, then decided to close down shop. I wanted to get down to the library and check public records around Golden Mile, as well as look into if they were catching any heat from the Drone incident. Maybe they were losing money and sales, and figured if they showed that they had recalled and destroyed the 'malfunctioning' animatronics they'd get some consumer goodwill. I snorted slightly at this, before heading out.

The library to check public records, and then a careful look through whatever files Matthews was able to get from his bosses for me. And then… I sighed, not wanting to have to do this; they were both still exhausted and still catching the ire of both protestors and news groups, in addition to the lawsuit pending. I didn't want to bother them with this, but I had to have some answers.

I'd have to get in touch with Mr. Faz and Mike Schmidt.

I yawned as I entered my room; sure enough, Foxy was sitting in her recharger, in standby. When I shut the door behind me, her golden eyes flickered briefly and she looked up to me, head dilting. "A-Alex?" She spoke, the faint stutter in her voice working for a 'yawn'. I smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry I'm home so late…" She smiled and nodded, disconnecting herself long enough to come over and give me a brief hug. I hugged her back, but couldn't help feeling a bit nervous; this Golden Mile issue was going to be a headache, and I'd rather keep it from them until I could talk to Mr. Faz and Mike. With a smile, I gently kissed her. "It's late, hun. You should get back to charging."

She smiled and shook her head. "I've been plugged in for most of the day, Alex. My battery's full… Besides, I wanted to…" She blushed a bit, before looking up at him. "I wanted to sleep in your bed tonight. With you."

It was my turn to blush. Considering the issues with dating an animatronic, there were certain things I'd given up on, and one of them was exactly what she was suggesting. After all, when you had to be plugged into a charger all night, it wasn't very conductive to snuggling with a partner… Apparently she'd been thinking about this for a while if she had a full battery. I softly began to pet her. "You know you'll have to charge up some tomorrow, or plug in earlier…" She shushed me with a kiss and a smile. I smiled back; apparently she wasn't taking no for an answer.

I changed into an old T-shirt and pair of shorts and crawled into bed, with her following shortly after. The springs creaked slightly; her endoskeleton had some weight to it. With a smile, she nuzzled up under my chin and I wrapped my arms around her. A flick of a switch, and the lights were out.

I was looking forward to a peaceful sleep, but one thing still bothered me…

What was Golden Mile's involvement? Seems like I have two cases going on at once here, neither of which they hired me for. First off, I had to figure out what their involvement was, and why they cared where the original band members had went? Their names weren't connected to the lawsuit, and even if they were there was still plenty of evidence to handle Fazbear Entertainment as it was.

The second question, and the one I would argue as more important… How did they find out the animatronics that the police had taken weren't the same as the originals? I remembered them; they were the ones that were guarding Golden Freddy when the band, aided by my old friend Adams, had taken down his drone operation. They had been taken into custody and shut down, pending the lawsuit…

So how had they found the serial numbers?

This question bothered me all the way into a deep and peaceful sleep.


So it seems like Alex is in a bit of a sticky situation on this one. What's Golden Mile up to?

Read and review, everyone!