Ramen Eating Contest
It took some digging, but Detective Logan Goodwin managed to find a possible match to the mystery technician from the security video. Her name was Paige Middleton, and she had been working in the Tower ever since the Red War. A little more digging revealed that she had connections with people who had been charged with disorderly conduct related to anti-Guardian rallies that had happened in the City recently. There was no evidence that she had been part of them, but the connection, when coupled with sneaking something on and off Jackal's ship, was a giant red flag.
It also turned out that she was a regular at the Jolly Dragon Bar and Grill. Where a murder had taken place. Where the key suspect, and a self-confessed drug dealer, were also regulars. Where, according to the suspect, the victim had also run illicit operations.
Shame the Dragon seemed to draw such shady clientele. He had genuinely started to like the place.
A dig through social media posts revealed that Paige was going to be joining some friends at a Ramen shop in town known as The Modern Emperor. They were one of several restaurants in the Last City that offered a challenge related to eating a specific, usually massive, meal. Between those challenges and eating contests, food challenges seemed like they were becoming a pastime to rival watching Crucible matches.
Goodwin arrived at the restaurant to find the challenge about to begin. Several of the patrons were surrounding a large central table. A young man sat at the table, soaking up the attention. He was laughing, flexing his muscles, and waving to the onlookers. Three people stood to the left of the table in a small clump, watching closely and whispering to each other. Logan recognized Paige Middleton right away.
The door to the kitchen opened, and a small cheer rose from the gathered audience. A waiter emerged, brandishing a tray bearing a massive bowl high above his head. He strode to the table and lowered it with a flourish, then made a performance of setting the bowl and utensils infront of the challenger.
Logan ignored the contest, keeping his eyes on Middleton. When she stepped away from her friends, he followed, looking for an opportunity to bring her in to talk without creating a scene. She exited the restaurant, and pulled out a hand-held communication device, calling someone. Logan exited, and the sound of the door caused his quarry to turn.
When she saw him, recognition flashed across her face. She lunged forward suddenly, shoving the door against him, then ran.
"Why do people keep doing that to me?" Logan grumbled, and launched into pursuit.
Middleton was not nearly as quick as Rhys Preston had been, and Goodwin was able to catch her. He grabbed her arm, spun her around, and in the same motion drew his badge and waved it in front of her face.
"See this? It means when I want to talk to you, you stay to talk instead of running away."
"Let go of me," she shouted, yanking hard against his grip. "Zombie lover. Sympathizing with those dead freaks."
"Yeah, yeah, Guardians are the worst," Logan said as he managed to put handcuffs on the struggling woman. "Now, let's go have a nice, long chat about what kind of terrible things they keep on their ships that you apparently like to borrow."