Hi. Chapter 27. I'm quite satisfied with this one. It somehow feels right. *shrugs with a content smile*
LadyWolvie82 - thanks for editing.


Sergeant Lightning Farron entered the police station without any hesitation, just as she would do every other typical working day. This time though, all the voices were silenced completely, and every pair of eyes were following her closely. Her coworkers didn't even bother to keep up with appearances. The surprised stares that 'welcomed' her weren't discreet at all. The echo of her heavy footsteps, ran through the hallway and back to reach her own ears. With every next person she passed, she could hear growing murmurs and agitated whispers behind her back. No one dared to approach her directly. To tell everyone the truth, she showed no sign of even acknowledging their presence. There was never really any kind of relationship between her and colleagues except for the professional one. This time she didn't feel the need to satiate their curiosity or explain anything as well. Sure, the fuss they were making around her, it only made her irk grow. Getting into the spotlight was never her true intention. She always preferred working from the shadows, that was way more effective…and the more attention she got, the more irritating people appeared around her.

Lightning ignored all the voices behind her, which were getting more and more vivid with every step. Without sparing a glance, she approached the reception desk.

"Sergeant Farron. Keys to my office, please." She said plainly, without any kind of invitation before. She could never find any purpose behind the pleasantries. The thought about how constrained it always felt on her lips was making her sick now. Excess of politeness was just a waste of time and within the thick, bitter void inside her, there was none of it to be found.

The young man sitting behind the desk seemed confused. "Umh…" He stuttered nervously glancing to the side and back at the pinkhead.

"The office number thirteen." She prompted, slowly running out patience.

"Uh… I know but…" The man fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze not sure about how to proceed. No one expected her there that day and yet she appeared as if nothing ever happened. Lightning put her hand on the desk, leaning on it. A deep frown appeared on her face.

"Is there any problem?" Her voice rose slightly, showing the traces of exasperation. The man froze for a moment, intimidated by her scrutinous gaze then he shook his head slightly.

"No, ma'am." He got up hurriedly and after a while, he put the keys on the desk. She could see his eyes stopping for a while at her palm before she grabbed the keys. Her eyes dared him to ask about wounds on her knuckles that has just entered the process of scarring. The man remained silent though and sheepishly came back to his duties. Light's palm slipped from a desk slowly, satisfied with the silence from the young receptionist.

"Thanks..." She said flatly, without the slightest hint of gratefulness and walked away in the direction of her office.

A minute later there was a knocking at her door, and it was opened right after, without waiting for her answer. Amodar's stocky posture appeared in her office.

"Farron, what the hell are you doing here?" Amodar asked. He seemed bewildered by seeing her in the station. A highly concerned frown made the wrinkles on his forehead deepen significantly. Lightning looked at him as if his question didn't make sense at all, dumbfounded that he asked that kind of question to her.

"Getting back to work, sir." She answered plainly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "As far as I know, my holiday has ended yesterday." That's how these things worked. You had a couple of days off and then you're back at work. That made complete sense to her, so no one really should be surprised to see her there. On the other hand, she could understand the slight confusion. The circumstances were making her getting back to work questionable. Especially while still recovering from the head injury. She refused to take a sick leave though. Anything to not sit purposelessly in home… thinking. Anything to keep her mind occupied.

Amodar's eyes went wide in surprise and he couldn't help a few seconds of silent stare. Light could see his thoughts battling each other, struggling to put two and two together. She gave him some time to sort them out. Finally, the corners of his mouth started turning up and not long after his rich laughter filled the room. "You'll never stop amazing me, Farron."

Lightning couldn't find anything amusing about it. She didn't feel a need to make comment as well, so she just stood there staring at her boss emotionlessly, waiting for him to continue.

"Follow me to my office, please." He said finally, shaking his head with disbelief and left the room.

Amodar fell into his comfortable-looking chair with a satisfied sigh. The good mood seemed not to leave him just yet. He pointed to another chair, encouraging her to sit down but Lightning ignored the gesture. She didn't want to prolong anything, and she preferred to stand anyway.

"You say your holiday has just ended, yeah?" He let out another small laugh before continuing what he wanted to say. "Looks like it was quite busy." Lightning pursed her lips in the thin line, stopping unnecessary answer from getting out from her mouth. "I told you to get some days off to relax a little bit, not to unearth the biggest scandal of the century." She wasn't sure if her boss expected any reaction from her. Ignoring his amused attitude was getting harder with every sentence though. "Looks like we have a completely different definition of relaxation if I had an opinion on it."His laugh reverberated through the room again. It literally killed the remains of her patience and made the tiny, pulsing tendon show up at her temple.

"Is that so funny for you, sir?" She scowled at her boss, especially emphasizing his title through clenched teeth. He looked taken aback. This time it was his turn to stay silent. "It was going for years now, just under your nose and you did nothing. You didn't have the slightest idea of what was going on. Is that so funny?"

Amodar cleared his throat, getting serious in the moment.

"Farron, you clearly know that was out of my reach."

"Tch… of course. You were obediently covering your eyes and ears when you were told so. Afraid to find out something that would be too inconvenient, too much to handle for just a regular police captain of the middle-sized province." Her sarcastic tone was obvious. Someone of his position should have taken a closer look at this case long ago. And he preferred to not step out of the line, excusing himself with orders he got from whoever. Keeping his conscience clear and his comfortable post.

"Enough." He stood up from his chair surprised at the lack of respect from his subordinate. There was never excessively strict discipline in his unit. He preferred his officers to speak freely than to rule with the iron fist. However, respect for the hierarchy was a necessity in their line of work."Being a police officer isn't only about chasing criminals. It's about following the rules and orders. You can't just do anything you want, Farron."

"The rules? And just WHO makes them? Who gives out the orders? It's the fucking hierarchy, which keeps these on the top inviolable. You were ordered by PSICOM to back out from the cases related to Sci-Lore and they were ordered by Dysley to suppress all traces. Is that what being a police officer is about? Taking the orders?" Lightning stared daringly into his eyes, but Amodar wasn't the one to lose his temper quickly.

"I see your point. However, the end doesn't always justify the means. Even with the clearest intentions, you can't do whatever you want. Without these rules the difference between the good guys and bad guys gets foggy. Have you ever thought about that? Where lies the line the cop should never cross? We cannot be above the law in our pursuit of crime." Amodar looked sternly at the sergeant whose every muscle seemed extremely tense."You've shown the great example of not giving a damn about any line lately."He added.

Lightning set her jaw and narrowed her eyes on the captain. She knew exactly what he was referring to and had no answer to that. She acknowledged her actions in silence. Despite somewhere deep inside the itching feeling was telling her the actions had been wrong, she couldn't find it in her to regret. The silence spread between them as she refused either to agree or disagree with him. Amodar sighed with resignation and continued.

"Fine. Exposing Sanctum's crimes and making them public was out of protocol and I would deal with the case differently. Still, I understand your lack of trust in the higher instances, so I'm backing you with that. Hell, I could even give you a medal for it. But all that happened later… Your chase for Dysley… The killing rampage? Really Farron? Is that what police officer should be allowed to do?"

The sergeant barred her clenched teeth and looked to the side. When it came to the question the answer appeared in her mind quickly as a firm, unwavering 'no'. Thinking of Dysley though… she wasn't so sure. There was something in her that was giving her a dark conviction… If there was a certainty that she would get Dysley… She would turn Sanctum's mansion into a butchery once again. No doubt about that. The guilt was pestering her all the time, but it couldn't really get through the dark place she found herself in lately. It clearly was there, but it couldn't reach her consciousness.

Amodar let a heavy breath out. "I should have stopped you back then when I saw you in the crowd."

"Then you wouldn't be sitting here right now…" She snapped at him. Amodar straightened his back, alarmed by the words he didn't expect at all. His mouth opened but couldn't utter a word, he closed them again and kept staring at her in pure disbelief. Lightning kept his gaze, having no intention to take her words back. When they sank in and started to get a form in her mind, she started to wonder. Would she really shot Amodar if he tried to stop her? There weren't a lot of people she respected in her life. Amodar was one of them. The things he taught her, saved her ass many times. He disapproved whenever she had taken an action out of protocol to get a bad guy, but he always let her slip with that and kept her records clean. There was a lot of things she didn't agree with him but generally, he was a good guy. Would she really have shot him then and there? The tries to mask her doubts made her look even more dogged.

"What is wrong with you, Farron? You've always been rather crusty, but now I can't even recognize you." Amodar was angry. Angry and disappointed. There was no doubt to that but somewhere under the anger Lightning could sense the genuine concern in his unyielding eyes. Lightning Farron had been under his command since she had entered the force. Since the first day, captain Amodar had seen something in her that the others had been lacking, this strange, unshattering conviction. He had taken her under his wing with a feeling that investing his time in this one would have paid off. Guts had been telling him that they might have expected great things form her one day… He wondered if he was wrong all this time. The things the hardheaded woman was capable of were clearly outstanding, but he started to think he had played along with something he had yet to truly understand…

Lightning didn't care for the concern she found in his eyes. She was fine on her own and didn't need anyone to be concerned about her. Not her sister, and most definitely not her boss.

"Maybe I've always been like that and you just couldn't see it." Lightning replied stubbornly, crossing her arms defensively on her chest and looking to the side at the nearby window. The stocky man shook his head disapprovingly but decided to drop the topic.

"I asked you here today because there are some serious charges on you…" Light kept staring through the window as if the words didn't reach her. "You must be aware that normally you would be arrested and would wait for a lawsuit. The circumstances are extraordinary though. Regardless, I still had to vouch for you so that you can walk freely until the trial."

"Nobody asked you for that." She answered a little bit calmer, but her voice was still filled with animosity. The captain ignored her comment, determined to finish this conversation quickly.

"You cannot come back to your duties as if nothing happened, with charges hanging above your head. I'm forced to suspend you."

Lightning felt a heavy pang in her stomach, but this time around she didn't even flinch. Her narrowed eyes kept drilling a hole in the tree which was growing just behind the window. If she said that she hadn't been expecting that, she would have lied through her teeth. The earlier assumption didn't make it any easier though.

"To be completely honest, Farron, I find it hard to believe that the judges might find you innocent. As you know, this is the most important condition which determines if you can or cannot work in the police force. Even if the sentence is minimal and you are put on probation because of the circumstances, you cannot continue your duty."

Lightning tightened her eyelids slowly while all her muscles tensed bracing from the realization that, technically speaking, she was just kicked off.

"Is that all…?" She asked coldly, not letting the whirl of various, mostly negative, emotions take over.

"I'm very sorry, I didn't want it to end like that."Lightning nodded acknowledgingly not giving him a glance. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he really was, but it didn't concern her.

"Yes, you are free to go." He added after a while, answering her question eventually. Amodar seemed surprised by her lack of reaction but he didn't try to stop her when she turned on her heel and without a second glance moved on towards the door. "Farron." He called her when she was at the door. As if he waited to the last moment with the decision to add something more. She stopped with her hand on the handle and waited for him to continue. Facing her boss didn't seem necessary. "Remember that I'm sticking my neck out for you. Don't disappoint me."

Lightning pushed the handle down and left without any further word.

XXX

Lightning raised a bottle of beer to her mouth and took a long swig. The taste of alcohol always made her taste buds protest and it wasn't different this time. She cursed herself for choosing the beer. Her aim was to stop thinking. That really was all she wanted now, getting to the desirable state was taking so much longer than usual with the beer. She put the bottle on the floor of her new apartment. It was almost empty. The furniture was all it was filled with and even them were mostly disused. There were a few boxes in the corner filled with the stuff she couldn't force herself to unpack. To tell the truth, there wasn't an object she unpacked for the sake of unpacking. The only things which got out of boxes were these she needed at the time. That's why almost all the shelves, drawers and cupboards were empty. She didn't bother with any kind of decoration. That was always Serah's part and she could never find any usage of it. To sum up, her apartment was small, with white walls and plain furniture, strictly arranged, looking almost Spartan. She liked it like that. Or rather she didn't dislike it. It didn't arouse any emotion in her.

She downed the rest of the bottle and put it back to the floor, knocking down another empty bottle in the process. It wobbled at first and then fall with a clink and rolled away. Lightning didn't bother to track its movement and lied back on the sofa looking absentmindedly on the ceiling. The realization started slowly sinking in. She was just kicked out of the police force. The mass of austerity, hundreds of over hours, uncountable sleepless nights. She devoted her life to this job and in the end, it didn't even matter. Losing her job was another hard blow she had to cope with. The sheer fact of it wasn't as devastating as one could imagine. It was more about losing a goal, having no direction to go. As far as she was concerned, they could all go fuck themselves with all their rules and hierarchy. It didn't bother her much. She took it calmly with no further angry outburst not excessive distress about her future. How was she supposed to think about the future while everything around her was falling apart and the thing which was falling the hardest was herself? Pushed further down with every day that passed. She grew more and more inert to everything that was happening in her life. It seemed easier to shut everything out and just lay on the sofa neither sleeping nor awake. Making herself numb with a beer.

As much as she wanted it to work like that it didn't necessarily. Every while in a time a stray thought hit her like a sucker punch in the stomach. No matter how much she tried to stop the thoughts from expanding, it was hopeless. Once it pushed her onto the tracks, she couldn't stop a river of mixed memories from flowing. The one thing that concerned her about losing her job, except the wounded pride, which was then in shreds anyway, was the lack of things she could focus at. She would now lay whole days without any place she could run from herself and from thoughts that wouldn't let go. Having nothing to do was completely new in her life and she didn't have the tiniest idea how to cope with it. She had some savings, so she didn't need to necessarily look for a job in the exact moment and she had no intention to do so. To do anything… She felt tired. Though it was different from her regular tiredness caused by a lack of sleep or excessive physical training. Just tired.

Lightning raised her hand up, over her forehead and eyed a small object between her fingers. Her eyes narrowed menacingly as if she tried to brace against a rush of memories. The memory card... The exact one which had slipped out of Nabaat's hand while they had almost bumped into her a second time in Sci-Lore's laboratories. The second and surely the last time. Lightning never really had an occasion to see what was saved there. With events rushing at as crazy pace as they did, she almost forgot about the small object lying patiently in the hidden pocket of her legbag. Until the encounter with Cid Raines. Then she remembered and realized she might be in possession of invaluable data. The object so desired by Cid Raines. Who knew what other secrets the small plastic card might hide from the public. There was some curiosity in her. Her thoughts couldn't stop to wander away and ponder at the content of the inconspicuous object. On the other hand, she couldn't find it in her to check the files. She didn't want. She… was afraid. Even idiot could suspect what was inside. What data could be so valuable that Jihl risked her life to save it? She couldn't see any other possibility, that the scientist trying to save her lifetime study, the "Pulse Project". That was exactly what she was afraid to see. The tranquility she was able to put herself in was way better than the heaviness of pushing Fang away and she preferred anything to thoughts about Fang. Light gritted her teeth, the desired tranquility already wavered by the small object which happened to channel her thoughts to the cocky brunette. Rubbing salt into the still open wound wasn't something the Cocoonian was eager to do.

Lightning felt betrayed. It came that she had to be the one carrying the burden. Again. Even if no one else understood, there were things she just owed to her sister, to her parents. She couldn't just leave Serah be. Etro seemed to like putting more and more weight on her shoulders. Through her whole life, every time Lightning barely adjusted to the heaviness, managed to rise to her feet and made the very first, shaky step forward, Etro put more on her shoulders, forcing her to her knees again, watching with curiosity and wondering if the human's determination would be hardwearing enough to carry the weight or if she would break finally and fall to the ground hopelessly. Wondering just where the border lies.

Lightning knew, that after what had happened, there was never a real place for 'happily ever after' with Fang. Life taught her a tough lesson that naïve dreams didn't become true, thus she tried to prepare herself for the harsh reality, for being forced to part ways with Fang. What she didn't expect though was the choice that lied before her. Lightning was prepared for Raines or some other higher power tearing them apart. Something she could anchor her anger at, something she could pour her hatred into and finally make peace with their fate. She wasn't prepared to be that something herself. To take all the responsibility for giving up on Fang, for pushing her away. She didn't want to be the wall standing between her and the Pulsian. She didn't want Fang to hate her for being that wall. She didn't want to hate herself and that was exactly what was slowly occurring. The emerald, disappointed eyes flashed in her memory every now and then making her despise herself more every time she remembered them. Sometimes she would find herself taking Fang's side, not understanding her own decisions. Then she would get mad all over again. How was Fang supposed to understand her if she herself was struggling to… Serah was the very sense and purpose of her life for so many years. No matter how much she wanted the brunette's strong arms around her, she couldn't give up the whole life she led so far, could she?

Lightning's eyes widened as she felt the slightest waver in her resolve. She gritted her teeth with exasperation. Further thinking threatened to crush her. Some sort of closure was the thing her mind desperately yearned for. Then she growled angrily, sobering herself and forcing to get a grip.

Let doubt take over, and despair will cripple you.

She couldn't stand to think it over, so she decided to do what she was best at.

XXX

The dark, grey sky hung above high buildings. There were no stars visible, only the grey mass over his head giving the suffocating impression and the greatness of Gran Pulse in the distance. It was reflecting some bright light giving the sky grey color but itself it was barely visible, as a major part of it was hiding somewhere behind the horizon and the height of nearby buildings. The night sky was so much different than he was used to seeing. A tear slid down his cheek and he wiped it angrily with the back of his hand. The man looked down, and over the edge of the roof he was standing at. High. The Cocoonian's buildings were high in his eyes, but couldn't even match with Gran Pulse's canyons that he was raised in.

He sped up along the edge and leaped towards the next building grabbing on its edge. He climbed up with ease and shortly after leaped on the roof of another close standing building, then another and another, never stopping in his run, determination painted at his face. He stopped before a few meters lower building eyeing it scrutinously from the distance. That's the one. Then he jumped on it, rolling over his shoulder to ease the landing. He got up and walked near the edge, dusting his dark blue baggy trousers. Clearly, there was no fortuity in his actions. He was moving with purpose and with the same determination he hung down the edge and climbed down holding onto the cornices and numerous ornaments. He glued to the wall and inspected a nearby window closely. His heart was hammering nervously in his chest. To his surprise, there was a gap between the window and its frame. It was opened as if welcoming him to get inside. Indeed, the night was warm, and the opened window was nothing exemplary. I couldn't get luckier. He pushed it wider and slid silently inside. His eyes swiped the room briefly, adjusting to the darkness inside. Quickly his eyes localized the target. A large bed near one of the walls with a bulky person cradled in the sheets. His eyes narrowed while his mind renewed the soreness in him with a few flashbacks. The man's deft fingers tightened over the handle of a dagger and unsheathed it slowly. He cautiously approached the figure lying in the bead. The blade felt heavy in his hand. He didn't enjoy killing people even if they were heartless bastards who deserved much less than quick death by a precise cut of a blade. Before that, he would need to ask some questions though. The young man stopped suddenly at the foot of the bed. Something was not right. He spotted a large dark stain on the sheets. Blood. The moment that the realization struck him, he felt a cold blade at the side of his neck. His muscles stiffened in alarm, but he remained motionless.

"You've finally shown up, Shadow Hunter…" The emotionless voice reached him from behind. "Or should I rather call you Noel Kreiss." The voice, he immediately recognized. He barred his gritted teeth. No one was going to change his mind. Certainly not her. If he was to die, alright. He would rather die than simply accept what happened to all of them… what they did to Yeul.

He spun around, ignoring the cutting edge at the side of his neck and drove his short sword into the intruding blade, yanking it to the side. It took the woman off guard. She didn't expect Noel to fight back, being cornered like that. She had no intention of cutting his throat while she saw his sudden movement. Her bad. What else could she expect of someone raised in Gran Pulse? That moment of hesitation might have cost her a lot. Noel's hit was strong enough to yank her gunblade to the side. She refused to let go of the handle, so the attack left the surprised woman open. The Pulsian wasted no time and exploited their current position by driving his foot hard, right into the woman's stomach. The force of the kick made the air leave her lungs and pushed her backward. She dropped to one knee clutching at her stomach and forced herself to look up. For a moment she felt as if the time froze. Noel was already in the air, his hand leaned backward, his dagger aimed directly at her. She reacted on instinct, lurching immediately to the side. As if in the slow motion, she saw the blade flying just above her eye, cutting a few inert strands of her pink fringe, which weren't quick enough to follow her movement.

The thud of the weapon sticking into the wooden surface reached her ears. She ignored it though, as Noel was already swinging at her another, slightly larger sword. The place was too cramped, there was neither place nor time for her usual dodges and ducks. Light brought her gunblade up, trying to block the heavy attack. The blades clashed loudly and kept pushing into each other as none of them wanted to give up. They both gritted their teeth, trying to overpower each other in vain. Lightning took a left hand off the handle and put it on the back of her blade for better leverage, careful not to tighten her fingers over the cutting edge. Then all her muscles strained, and her legs straightened, bringing her finally to her feet and forcefully pushing Noel backward. He staggered as the back of his legs bumped into a chair and fell to the floor.

The Pulsianimmediately rolled over on instinct, sensing that the pink-haired woman was going to seize the opportunity. He wasn't mistaken as her blade at once appeared where he was not even a second before. The man crumbled to his feet with impressive quickness, luckily noticing his dagger stuck in the nearby piece of furniture. Grabbing again the short blade he rushed with renewed power towards Lightning. This time with the two weapons and the momentum at his side. He was going to exploit these advantages. She wouldn't be able to push him back again. The distance between them closed in an instance and their blades clashed again but then something unexpected happened. The woman redirected the power of it to the side, sending hers and his longer blade flying. In the same time, she slipped away from his path, making him stumble forward at the lack of resistance and passing her mere inches. Before he realized what had just happened, he felt the strong arm circle him from behind and the crushing grip on his wrist. The other hand gripped at his hair and pulled his head violently back. His own blade was dragged forcefully by the wrist to his exposed throat. It pressed there shakily as the muscles in his arm were fighting back. He had no chance though. Lightning's trained body was clung tightly to his back and her arm rounded him, pressing his own arm to his chest in the position uncomfortable enough to prevent him from using the full power of his muscles. He could hear ragged, shallow breathing whizzing through woman's teeth. Her midriff was still recovering from the hard kick it took. The Pulsian reached with his free hand to the grip on his wrist and was painfully reminded of his situation as his head was yanked further backward.

"I'm not here to fight you." He heard the exasperated growl from behind him. He once more struggled to free himself, before giving up.

"Sure…" He answered not at all convinced by her words. "What else would a cop want from Shadow Huter…"

"I was a cop." Lightning snapped at him and waited for the words to sink in, correcting him like she usually does. Then she loosened her grip and pushed Noel forward, creating a safe distance between the two of them. The Pulsian turned to face her but didn't move from the place he stopped. The pinkhead walked to pick her gunblade up and sheathed it with a trained movement, all the time keeping a cautious eye on the Shadow Hunter.

"What do you want from me?" He asked finally, getting impatient.

"Nice hobby you've found to entertain yourself before getting back to Gran Pulse." She said flatly and Noel only glared at her warily, not sure if she was being sarcastic or not. "Hunting the closest associates of Dysley, bringing justice to everyone responsible for what happened to you… to Yeul…" Lightning noticed as his jaw set at the sound of the girl's name. She decided to push further. "It can't be easy to find them, since they've all gone into hiding, huh?" Lightning gave him a sardonic glance. She expected an answer though and wasn't disappointed.

"It was with the first one." The man started with a scowl. "Put the cutting edge to their throats and they suddenly have a lot to tell."

Light almost smiled with bitter satisfaction. Then she laid her eyes on the lifeless form lying in the bloodied sheets. "Too bad you won't have any use of this one." Her tone was everything but apologetic and Noel frowned at the obvious lack of remorse.

"What's your point?" He asked eventually having no idea where the conversation was taking them.

"You see. I still have access to quite a large part of the police database." Her voice was surprisingly indifferent and cold. "I thought it might be useful at your little search."

Noel's eyebrows rose and he wasn't sure what to think of her words. He watched her warily trying to find at least a glimpse of her intentions, but her emotionless mask was uncompromising.

"Why would you do that? Such an offer always goes with a price."

A smallish, bitter laugh escaped her mouth. "Now you're learning."

"What do you want?"

Her expression grew somber as she finally bored her eyes in him. He saw pure hater in there, intimidating as hell.

"Galenth Dysley."

The two words were enough for an answer. The pieces fall in place and the woman's intentions started to materialize in Noel's mind.

"I'll let you have all the minors." Her voice brought Noel's attention back. "In condition, you leave the big fish for me." He listened to her closely, intrigued by her proposition. "You make the roaches sing and if you hear anything interesting… you know where to find me." By the look on Pulsian's face, she knew he was going to take that opportunity. Yet her offer was generous, especially that Noel's alternate path was lying limp in the bloodied sheets.

"Why would you want Dysley so much?" He asked out of curiosity but immediately felt as if he bumped into the wall, before even hearing her answer.

"None of your business." There it was, just like Noel expected. She might not be the most pleasant person to deal with but wasn't the one to waste words. The obviousness of Light's practical sense made him trust her in that matter. He nodded with a sigh and sheathed his dagger walking towards her.

"Looks like we cut a deal." He said stretching his hand in her direction. Lightning looked at the stretched hand with a slight raise of her eyebrows but didn't return the gesture. Instead, she put the external hard drive on the nearby table. She tapped twice with her gloved finger on the wooden surface to draw his attention to the object. Then she turned and without the further word started walking towards the exit. She stopped just before it and glanced over her shoulder.

"Don't forget to clean the mess you've done here." And then she disappeared, walking out the front door.