Thursday morning, Nero rose early, turned off the alarm clock, made a simple breakfast, and got the kids out the door before Kyrie had even awakened. He covered her breakfast plate with a cloth and left it for her to find whenever she made her way downstairs before calling Nico.

From the multiple rings and the groggy greeting, Nero could tell that the phone had dragged her out of bed. "Get your ass in gear, sleepyhead. You find anything on that other hunter yet?"

"Not yet," Nico grumbled. "I put out some feelers. Hell, Nero, it's only been one day. I'm not a miracle worker."

"Well, I am," he grinned. "I got a lead. You wanna come help me kick his ass?"

"What?" Nico suddenly sounded considerably more awake. "Hell, yeah, I'm in! I'll be over in twenty minutes."

"Meet me in the garage. Kyrie's still asleep, and I don't want to wake her."

He packed up his weapons as quietly as possible and crept out to the van to wait for Nico, who arrived fifteen minutes later looking slightly sleep-rumpled but enthusiastic. She swung into the driver's seat. "So where is this bastard?"

"South side, somewhere. We're gonna have to look for him."

"South side? That's all you got?"

"Near the old garment district. Don't complain; the two of us can canvass that whole neighborhood in less than an hour."

The garment district had been in decline even before the fall of the Order. The old textile mill on the edge of the city had been abandoned for some decades, and the shops that had once sold wholesale fabric and handcrafted clothing to merchant ships had closed once the Order began importing their liturgical robes from a supplier in Italy and imposing heavy restrictions on independent trade. Now, with the island's economy plummeting, most of the storefronts were empty, vacant windows boarded up or baring teeth of jagged glass.

There were, however, a few signs of life among the derelict buildings. Here and there a resident wandered over the broken pavement, burdened with shabby parcels. They cast sharp glances at the van as it lumbered down the narrow streets, its neon reflected by the windows that remained intact. A single bodega advertised groceries and discount household goods on a hand-lettered sign propped in its window.

They parked the van several blocks from the bodega and walked back, on the chance that they might be able to pass for potential clients of the hunter rather than competition when asking questions. The few people they passed on the sidewalk had no interest in speaking to them, so they headed for the bodega.

The owner, a once-paunchy man whose sagging flesh told a tale of slow privation, frowned at them as they entered. "Morning," Nero greeted him.

"Good morning," the man replied, still wearing the frown. "Something I can do for you folks?"

"Yeah, maybe." Nero strolled casually up to the counter. "We're looking for somebody. Heard there was a hunter around here. Somebody who could take care of… you know. Local vermin."

"He means demons," Nico cut in, ignoring Nero's exasperated glare. "We're lookin' for a demon hunter. You got one around here?"

"Maybe." The man's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and he made no attempt to disguise the way he weighed his visitors' appearance and evident financial status. "You folks wanna look around the shop for a few minutes, I might be able to remember something."

"Thanks. We'll do that." Nero stepped a few paces away and jerked his head for Nico to join him. "Nico. Buy something."

She stared at him as though he'd sprouted a second head. "What? Why do I gotta buy somethin'?"

"Because he's not gonna tell us how to find the hunter unless we do."

"Well, why's it gotta be me? Why don't you buy somethin', Mr. Smooth Negotiator?"

"Because I gave every cent I had to Kyrie so she could buy groceries for the kids," he hissed. "And besides, you still owe me for that warehouse gig. So buy something."

"Fine," Nico sulked. She glanced around before grabbing a loaf of discount bread off a nearby shelf. "Hey, pops, I'd like to buy this."

The proprietor scowled at the single loaf. "Is that all?"

Nero muttered something unflattering under his breath and snatched a mid-priced bottle of wine from a rack. Judging by the layer of dust covering the bottles, wine was well out of the budget of the local clientele. "And this," he said, planting it on the counter.

Nico glared daggers at him, and Nero glared right back. "Do you want to find this guy, or not?" he growled.

"Fine," she muttered, pulling out a wad of bills. "How much?"

Once she'd paid, the owner walked to the window and pointed out at a tall gray edifice a couple of blocks away. "See the building with the arches? That's the old customs house. Try the second floor."

"Thanks for your help," Nero said, pulling Nico toward the door.

"Always happy to help a good customer." The owner's face contorted in a sly smile. "Come back any time."

Nico insisted on going back to the van and driving it to the customs house, in part so she could stow her purchases in the kitchenette. "I pay that damn much for a bottle o' wine, you can bet I'm gonna drink it," she snapped. "Besides, this guy's been stealin' our gigs, he already knows we're comin' for him. No point in tryin' to sneak up on him at this point." She ran the van's near wheels up on the sidewalk to keep it from blocking the single-lane road and threw it into park. "Let's go whoop some ass."

"Let's try talking first. Maybe we can convince him of the need for professional courtesy without jumping straight to the ass-whooping." Nero tucked Blue Rose beneath his coat and opened Red Queen's case. "And if he doesn't see reason, then we'll kick his ass from here to Capulet City."

The customs house had been boarded up at some point, but the barricades had been pried off of one of the side doors, leaving splintered wood around the frame. Nero stepped carefully over the debris in the doorway and peered around the dim interior. Sunlight filtered through chinks in the boards over the windows, striping across the indoor twilight. Nothing moved other than dancing motes of dust. "Looks deserted," he murmured to Nico.

"Well, that guy did say second floor." Nico followed Nero into the building, blinking as her eyes adjusted. "Sure is creepy in here. Like a horror movie."

Nero laughed. "You drove all the way through the Qliphoth and you think this is creepy? It's just an empty room."

"That's what makes it creepy. There's nothin' movin' in here, but somethin's got the air all stirred up." She nodded toward one of the broader patches of light. Glowing particles swirled chaotically through the beam. "It ain't us makin' that breeze."

"It's an old building. Probably just a draft. Come on." Nero led the way to the stairs they could see opposite the front door. The steps were marble, broad and curving, a relic of a time when this had been a thriving trade center. Now rat droppings and dead leaves were accumulated in the corners, though a clear path ran down the center. "Somebody's definitely been using this."

"Yeah, well let's hope he's still up there." Nico started to ascend, but Nero threw out an arm to stop her. "What?"

"Wait a second." Something wasn't right here. Nero breathed slowly, reaching out as best he could with the senses he could control and hoping that the one he hadn't yet mastered decided to kick in on its own. "I don't like this."

"There's a lot I don't like, startin' with that S.O.B. stealin' our gigs. Let's go already!"

"Fine. Just keep your eyes open for anything weird." Nero followed her up the stairs, but his hand strayed to Blue Rose's grip.

The stairs led to an open lobby ringed with several doors. Nero picked one at random and pushed it open with his foot. Like the room downstairs, it was illuminated only by narrow beams of light, which showed some old trash and what might have once been a squatter's camp in the corner. Undisturbed dust and leaves littered the floor. "Nothing in here."

Nico had selected a different entrance. "Here, neither. Cobwebs all over the place, even on the door."

The third room they entered was brighter; a few boards had been knocked loose over a south-facing window, letting in a stream of light. "Hey, hey, lookie here!" Nico jogged over to a pile of objects in the corner, which on closer inspection turned out to be crude furniture: Several small wooden crates were arranged as a table, with another serving as stool beside it. A thin pallet was wedged into the corner beneath a threadbare blanket. "Looks like somebody's been livin' here." She ran a finger over one of the crates. "No dust. This is recent. And hey, look!" She pointed toward the far wall. "There's a sword just like yours!"

Nero turned to look where she was pointing. "It's not anything like mine," he scoffed. "That's a Caliburn. It's barely a step above a practice sword."

Nico crossed the room for a closer look. "But it even has the brake lever thingy like Red Queen!"

"They're both Order designs, but Red Queen is a custom Durandal. The officer's model. The Caliburn was standard-issue crap for foot soldiers. There's a reason I built my own instead of using the one I was issued."

"Well ex-queeze me for not bein' a sword fanatic." Nico reached for the weapon. "So where d'you reckon it came from?"

"They were mass-produced. I bet there's dozens of…" The moment Nico touched the sword, the hair on the back of Nero's neck prickled.

Nico turned to stare at him. "Of what?"

Suddenly the squelching pressure that preceded the opening of a portal pushed against Nero's ears."Nico, get out of here!" he shouted. Blue Rose was in his hand even before he turned to see the gate opening, a lurid red wound bubbling midair in the center of the room.

Nico bolted for the exit, but webs of red energy glistened into being across the doorway. "Shit. It's sealed somehow!" She slammed a fist against the barricade and hissed in pain. "Some kinda magic ward or somethin'. I can't get through!"

Nero had been caught in such devilish traps before, and knew that the only way to break the seal on the room was to kill whichever demon was generating it. "I'm gonna have to fight our way out. Get behind something and stay out of range."

"Just mind your aim," Nico called back. "Ain't nothin' here solid enough to stop bullets." She ducked into the squatter's corner, lifting the thin mattress to shield herself.

The demons appeared then, dropping through the hole in reality and staggering toward them. Nero emptied Blue Rose into the nearest, then drew Red Queen, twisting the ignition mechanism for the extra power it would provide. Normally he would have taken his time, enjoyed the fight a bit more, but he couldn't chance a demon slipping past him with Nico trapped here. He had to eliminate these small enemies as quickly as possible, before something bigger and meaner came through.

He'd charged through a half-dozen Scarecrows when the room's temperature dropped suddenly, and his panting breaths became clouds of steam. It was all the warning he had before an icy claw sang past his ear and lodged in the far wall. He whirled to knock the next projectile out of the air, then danced back as a Frost loomed up before him. The demon crouched and gestured, and Nero scarcely had time to dive aside before a spear of ice burst from the floor just where he'd been standing.

Recovering his balance, Nero charged forward and landed a flurry of blows, though all they succeeded in doing was scattering chips of ice from the creature's protective armor. "Giving me the cold shoulder, huh?" Nero grinned fiercely. "Well, let's heat things up a little." He planted Red Queen's tip into the floor, squeezed the release to flood the system with fuel, then twisted the ignition into overdrive. Flames burst from the exhaust pipes and sputtered down the edge of the blade where the fuel overflowed. "Light it up!" Nero shouted, swinging Red Queen with his full strength.

The flaming sword hissed as it cleaved into the Frost's ice shield. The demon shrieked and tried to retreat into a cocoon of ice, but Nero levered his weight behind the blade and sliced through the Frost's torso before it could fully encase itself. There was a burst of vapor as the demon disintegrated into ash and snow.

Nero spun in a circle, scanning for more threats, but aside from a distant sound like shattering glass, the room fell into silence. He replaced Red Queen and Blue Rose as Nico climbed out from beneath the mattress.

"Well that sure was excitin'," Nico muttered. "Wonder if those guys took out our hunter friend. Though he's not much of a hunter if he loses to the likes o' them."

"I don't think they did." Nero strode to the center of the room and brushed at the floor. The distinctive Solomon's Noose was freshly scorched into the wood planks. "These demons were summoned, and I'm betting it was some kind of trap that triggered when you picked up that sword. Seems like someone else wanted to get rid of that hunter as much as we did."

"Well, in any case, he ain't here." Nico turned to the door. "Looks like that warding spell or whatever is gone now, too."

"Yeah. Let's look around outside, see if we can find any sign of where he might have gone." They hurried downstairs and back out through the door they'd entered. Nico started to walk around the outside of the building, but stopped when Nero called, "Hey, does the van look weird to you?"

The two wheels nearer the building were parked on the sidewalk, but Nero could swear that the chassis was tilting at a more severe angle than it had been when they left. Nico frowned at it for a second, then circled the van. "Shit. Shit!"

"What's—oh." Nero saw the damage as soon as he'd cleared the front bumper. Both tires on the street side were slashed open, the rims already bending beneath the weight of the monstrous vehicle. Between them lay a sea of pebbled glass fragments; the window in the side door had also been smashed out. "Damn vandals."

Nico tested the door handle. It was unlocked. "Not vandals," she hissed, yanking the door open. "Thieves. They broke the window to unlock the door." She climbed gingerly inside, avoiding the shower of broken glass, and surveyed the damage. "Looks like they didn't spend much time in here, though. Stuff's a little tossed around, but nothin's—" She broke off suddenly, and Nero saw her body go rigid.

"What'd you find?" He climbed in after her.

"It's gone," Nico breathed, staring at a place on the wall. She jerked forward and pushed through a pile of loose items that had fallen on the floor. "It's gone!"

"What is?" Nero glanced around, wanting to help but unsure what he was looking for.

"My grandmother's gun!" Nico sounded frantic. "The .45 she made! It was hangin' right there!"

Nero saw the bare hook on the wall. He vaguely recalled seeing an old revolver mounted there, but he hadn't paid much attention to it. "Was it valuable?"

"It's irreplaceable!" Nico burst. "It was a Nell Goldstein original! What's it matter what it's worth?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to figure out why someone would take it."

"It's a gun. Guns are always worth something. But that's not the point." Nico wrapped her arms around herself, and Nero realized she was shaking. "It was all I had of her. My daddy got rid of everything else after she died. It was the only piece I had that she made."

"Maybe we can get it back. Something like that'll probably go on the black market, and Fortuna isn't that big. Somebody will hear something."

"I'm gonna kill 'em," Nico hissed. "If I find out who took it, I'm gonna put a .45 caliber bullet right between his eyes."

Nero had seen Nico in many moods, but this cold, murderous fury was a new one. "Okay, look, we'll talk to some people when we get back. But the first thing we have to do is figure out what to do about the van. You can't drive it like this."

Nico seemed to return to herself, and her shoulders slumped. "Right. I guess we have to have it towed. It's gonna ruin the rims, though."

"I think they're already a lost cause." Nero climbed in the front and checked the dash phone. "Weird. They took the gun, but left the electronics."

"Probably saw us coming and got spooked." Nico checked her mobile workshop. "Tools an' Breakers are all still here, too. Though it looks like they took that box o' spare ammunition Lady left…" She frowned. "Hey, didn't you have some ammo on this shelf, too?"

Nero joined her. "I did, yeah. The custom stuff for Blue Rose."

Nico's eyes widened. "What caliber? Is it standard?"

"Blue Rose? It's .45, but it's overpressure. Top and bottom barrels fire different loads."

"Shit. I hope they don't try to load any o' that in Nell's gun."

Nero shrugged. "If they do, they'll get what they deserve when the whole thing blows up in their hand."

Nico slapped his shoulder, hard. "An' just what do you think that'll do to my grandmother's gun, huh?"

"Oh. Right." He sighed. "Look, I'm gonna go find a phone booth to call us a tow truck."

Nico glanced up at the dash phone. "Why not call from here?"

"Because I don't know the number for a tow service. I gotta find a directory. You might as well stay with the van and make sure the thieves don't come back."

Nico picked up a wrench and twirled it menacingly. "I hope they do," she growled. "I actually hope they do."