Hello everyone, Last here again

I know I've been a bit slow writing recently but this also turned out to be the longest chapter I've written so far :/

Up next we get a proper look at how Broken Clockwork operates, at least I hope we do

Out of interest, has anything in this story caught you by surprise? let me know down below

Chapter 23

Darkness blanketed Zootopia. It was late, dusk had just about passed, and the gentle oranges of sunset had vanished over the horizon. Now was the exchange, the changeover between the parts of the city that functioned during the day and the parts that ran through the night. If you were some kind of deity, and took a casual glance at Zootopia at night, you would think that it was far calmer than the hustle and bustle of daily life.

You'd be wrong though. Given the number of mammals with nocturnal tendencies, along with those that just liked to let loose at night, the city was just as busy after sundown as it was during the day. You just needed to know where to look. Certainly, the very centre of Downtown appeared crowded, with mammals lining the neon-lit streets, but that was because there was so much to do in Downtown. The rest of the city looked almost deserted at night, save for the odd group walking together or a few loners on the prowl.

Most of the activity was, of course, located indoors. Clubs, bars, dives, hangouts, these sorts of places could be found throughout the city, not just Downtown, and could cater for any want or desire you might have, provided you knew where to find them.

Noct was buzzing as he made his way through the crowded streets of Downtown, this was his time, his senses were drowning in the Zootopian nightlife. The muffled noise of mammals talking was an excellent cover, the constant meeting of light and shadow from flickering lamps was all Noct needed to vanish from sight, the very atmosphere of mystery that the night carried was a tool for him to use.

Yes, this was when Noct was at his most effective, and also when Noct enjoyed himself the most.

Dealing in information just never gave me the same sort of thrill as this Noct thought to himself as he gradually drew closer to his target even if what I'm doing is pretty similar, just knowing that tonight I'm representing Broken Clockwork again is enough to send a shiver down my spine.

Noct came to a stop, across the street was his destination, and he could already make out the long line queueing up for entry. The nightclub was called Temptation, Noct sniggered at the name for a moment knowing what went on within its walls.

He had done his research, Noct was never less than 100% prepared before he started to move, so he knew that there was more than just one entrance. Crossing the empty street, Noct walked unnoticed past the main entrance with its long wait time and strict bouncers, and entered an alley that ran beside the club. He vanished into the dark, red eyes gleaming in the shadows, and the sounds of nightlife faded away behind him.

Sure enough, round at the back of the nightclub, there was another door with a little light above. It looked identical to any other door you might find in an alleyway behind a building except for the fact that there was a large grizzly bear wearing a black T-shirt that seemed slightly too small for him. The bear's muscles strained the fabric and made him an intimidating sight. The bear's eyes narrowed slightly when a figure suddenly stepped out of the darkness into the pool of light around the door he stood in front of.

The panther was well built for his species but even then, he was barely a third the size of the grizzly bear. So why was it that the bouncer was feeling slightly unnerved by the mammal in front of him.

"I've been told this is a much better way into Temptation" said Noct with a grin as he stopped just out of the bouncer's reach.

"Oh yeah?" replied the bear gruffly "who told you that?"

"That's not a question you should be asking"

The bouncer didn't seem very amused and made no move to let Noct pass.

"I have to say" said Noct with a sigh "I have a lot of respect for mammals who can put up with jobs like yours"

Noct reached into his pockets and pulled something out which he promptly tossed to the bear. Frowning the bear snatched whatever it was out of the air and looked down at his paws. It was a wad of cash, fifty dollar notes the bear noticed as his eyes widened, looking at the size of the stack this was a good couple of months wages for him.

"Call it a token of appreciation" said Noct still oozing self-confidence "I won't mistreat my friend's subordinates"

Everything about the situation was building up a picture in the bouncer's head. The panther's words, his supposed connection to the bear's superiors, his actions, the way he tossed that money out like it was nothing, his attitude, the charisma that you only had if you could toss out that much money like it was nothing.

This is definitely someone above my paygrade thought the bear hurriedly as he pocketed the cash.

The bouncer turned and opened the door before standing politely out of the way.

"I hope you have a pleasant evening sir"

Noct nodded his thanks as he walked into the nightclub and the bear shut the door once more, the brief thudding of the music echoed down the alley. The bouncer resumed his posturing, waiting for the next mammal who wanted to get in, hopefully this time he would spot them coming a little earlier. He thought back to how the panther had just appeared out of nowhere and shuddered slightly. About five minutes later, when no one else had shown up, the bouncer couldn't resist and pulled the wad of money out to count through it.

Noct found himself walking down a nondescript corridor, the only thing that hinted that he was going in the right direction, other than the fact this was the only path, was that the dull thumping of loud music was steadily getting stronger.

Just ahead the corridor turned a corner to his right and, as Noct walked round it, he saw another set of doors. This time there was a hippo, dressed up a bit more than the grizzly bear had been, he was wearing a white shirt as he waited by the door.

This time there was no questioning of Noct's presence, if he had got past the bouncer outside, and nothing untoward had been reported, then that just meant that Noct had the right to be there. There were no words spoken as Noct approached, the hippo simply opened the door for the panther and then closed it again once he had passed.

Noct frowned slightly, he had stepped out into a small shadowy alcove nestled next to one of the bars that surrounded the dance floor of Temptation, which meant that suddenly it was very loud. Noct shook his head slightly and sighed, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he focussed himself, the overpowering noise slowly began to fade down to more manageable levels.

"Mic Test, Mic Test" rumbled Noct in his throat as he pressed the chip in his wrist.

"Read you loud and clear Mr Gear" came the reply inside his head.

Noct nodded, both the mic and the headphones were directional and faced towards Noct's skin so external noises were supposed to be cut down. Even so, was there a better place to run a field test than a noisy night club? Noct was of the opinion that you could never be prepared enough for any eventuality.

Finally ready, Noct walked out of the shadows and joined the throng of mammals that filled the ground floor of Temptation. Step one was to find a mark, someone to show the way to the more private areas of the club, just from a casual glance Noct could tell that nothing illegal was happening on the ground floor.

Well nothing like drug and prostitution rings he thought to himself wryly as he watched a nearby stoat filch the phone out of a wolf's pocket while they were distracted.

Noct could simply push through the building blindly, he'd certainly done it before, however the further he could get under the guise of a customer, the easier it would be. Which meant he was on the lookout for his new best friend, Noct just didn't know who they were yet.

Noct took to the dance floor, by circling the edges he could observe all the mammals around the room, and it was far less noticeable than, say, standing broodily in a corner and looking all around. Dancing was one of the things Noct was least worried about, years of training had left him with a body more flexible than yoga practitioners and with smoother movements than a professional gymnast, and dancing had certainly been part of his education growing up. The strobing lights coming from the DJ over in one of the corners made it even easier for Noct to subtly move around the room without drawing attention to himself.

Noct had made about two thirds of a circle around the night club before he spotted someone suitable. A clouded leopard was sat by herself in a booth, she had a half-drunk whisky on the rocks in front of her, Noct could smell the kind of alcohol, and a rather bored look on her face. What made her interesting to Noct was that, after a few minutes of observation, it was fairly clear to Noct that the leopard wasn't waiting for anyone.

Noct swiftly made his way through the heaving crowd on the dance floor till he reached one of the bars. Now Noct was not trying to stay unnoticed, the mammals surrounding the bar shuffled out of the way to make room as he walked up, there was something… animalistic about the panther.

A major factor about getting served at any bar, not just at night clubs, is to get the bartender's attention. Even if the staff are doing a perfect job at serving each patron in the order that they arrived, it didn't matter at all if the bartender didn't notice you or forgot you were there.

The bartenders certainly did not miss Noct, he stood at the bar with a small grin on his face as he rhythmically tapped his fingers against the bar, red eyes watched the staff as they moved. Eventually one of the bartenders came to serve Noct, a little earlier in the order than he should have been, but they couldn't stand Noct's staring anymore, it was like being under a hunter's gaze.

Noct ordered two whiskeys on the rocks, the drinks did not take very long to make, and Noct left a fifty dollar note as payment. He left the counter before the bartender could return with his change, Noct had always liked to give tips to hard working citizens. The flickering light hid the feat of agility that was Noct manoeuvring through the writhing crowds without a single drop spilling from the two glasses in his hands.

The booth reappeared in view as Noct stepped out of the crowd, the leopard was still sat there looking bored though she had finished her drink. Noct slipped into the booth and slid one of the whiskeys across the table to the leopard who raised an eyebrow at the sudden intrusion.

"A drink for a friend" said Noct simply as he raised his glass.

"To new friends" the leopard reached out and raised her own glass, Noct seemed to have caught her interest "so what can I do for my new friend?" she asked as she took a sip of her drink, she blinked when she realised it was the same drink she had before and smiled.

"Call me Gear" said Noct smiling back "you looked bored, Miss?…"

"Bai Yun" said the leopard leaning on the table.

"Oh, a good name" said Noct gently swirling the ice in his glass "I thought I recognised your accent"

"You understand it?"

"Is it that rare to find someone who knows one of the languages of the East?" smirked Noct.

"You'd be surprised" said Bai Yun, her interest growing "Zootopia isn't always as multicultural as you would think"

"Oh don't I know it" chuckled Noct.

"So why exactly did you come and sit with me?" asked Bai Yun "I'm sure there are several mammals nearby who also look bored, there is a group of panthers you could join sat a few booths over I think"

"There certainly are" said Noct "however none of them are quite what I was looking for in a new friend. You see, this club" Noct gestured around them "it's a little… tame for my liking" a light of understanding appeared in Bai Yun's eyes "Since I've not visited Temptation before, I set about looking for a like-minded individual, and happened upon yourself"

"Oh? What makes you think there is something more to the club? And why do you think I would know?"

"Miss Bai, we are both on a different playing field to most of the mammals enjoying their night here" said Noct with a toothy grin "information about Temptation is easily found if you know where to look"

"While that is certainly true Mr Gear" said Bai Yun tilting her head "what made you think of me?"

"If you interact with a certain type of mammal for long enough then it becomes second nature to recognise one of your own" was all Noct said as explanation.

There was silence, well silence from the two of them, the room was still plenty loud enough. Bai Yun was indeed a mammal of importance, though only on the bottom few rungs of the ladder so to speak. Her family and associates had moved to Zootopia a few years ago, they had a series of Eastern style restaurants and also dabbled a little in organised crime, but they were very new, ranked below even Randal Wombach. Bai Yun was the little miss of the main family, what would normally be a life of leisure was a little more complicated for her now. Since they were so new the family needed to make contacts and acquaintances, allies even, and so Bai Yun found herself having to be a social butterfly. The reason she was here again tonight was in fact to integrate herself into the group of mammals around Mr Wombach.

So when Mr Gear turned out to be another big player in Zootopia Bai Yun immediately began to pay closer attention to him.

"I see" said Bai Yun with a smile "are you also here to try and see Mr Wombach?"

"Hmm, not particularly" said Noct indifferently "I'm just here for a bit of fun, I'd rather avoid the annoyance of dealing with Mr Wombach face to face"

Noct's rating moved above Randal Wombach's in Bai Yun's mind. Preliminary rating anyway, she only had Noct's words to go on. But the panther certainly did not seem to care about a mammal on the level of Mr Wombach.

"Well I doubt we'll actually see him" said Bai Yun a bit bitterly "I was mainly here to, well, make some new friends I guess. Still, I have been here before, so the least I can do for the only friend I've made so far is take you somewhere a bit more entertaining"

Noct sipped his drink and frowned to himself slightly, Bai Yun grew a bit nervous, had she said something to annoy him?

"This may seem a little rude of me" said Noct slowly "but how old are you Miss Bai?"

"I- I'll be 22 in a few months" said Bai Yun a little embarrassed.

"And it falls to you to make new connections, your group must still be quite new here in Zootopia"

Bai Yun's eyes widened as Noct saw through her situation so easily, the panther snorted softly as he watched the changes of expression on her face.

"Yes" said Bai Yun quietly as she took a large mouthful of whiskey "The Bai family only moved to Zootopia two and a bit years ago"

"Family comes first" Noct whispered to himself too quietly for Bai Yun to hear over the noise before he raised his voice "alright, let's go enjoy ourselves for a bit"

Bai Yun shook her head to clear it a bit, she could get behind that idea, she finished off the last little bits of her drink and stood up. Noct had not been drinking as fast as Bai Yun and her eyebrows shot up when she watched Noct throw back nearly an entire tumbler of whiskey in one go. What was more impressive was that Noct just carried on as if it never happened.

"Lead on" said Noct bowing slightly as he stood "Lead on"

The room was only crowded around the bars and on the dance floor. The area around the edges, where the booths were, was fairly clear, so there were no obstacles in the way for Bai Yun and Noct as the leopard led the way to the nearest stairs. The night club had an upper floor, essentially just balcony space that looked out over the dance floor from above, although there were more booths up here if you wanted slightly more peace and quiet.

Part way along the upper floor, walking to their left, Bai Yun came to a halt. At this point there was actually a small corridor hidden between two booths, rather than them being back to back, and Bai Yun headed down it without missing a beat. Noct nodded to himself as he followed, he had spotted several cameras hidden on the shadowy ceiling that were focused on this area, following a guest was certainly better for staying inconspicuous.

The dark corridor was not particularly long, just enough that you couldn't make out the other end in the dark, and Bai Yun and Noct soon arrived at a door. There was a very obvious camera located at the top of the frame which swivelled round to get a proper look at the two arrivals. There was silence for a few minutes as Bai Yun waited, she knew how all this worked, it would take a little time for them to verify her identity. She was going to mention something to Noct but found that he was waiting perfectly calmly.

I guess he's seen this sort of thing before she thought to herself as she turned back to the door.

"Welcome Miss Bai" a slightly scratchy voice suddenly burst out from a speaker built into the ceiling "it's wonderful to see you at our establishment again, we were wondering who your friend was?"

"This is Mr Gear" said Bai Yun gently "I can vouch for him, he is certainly more suited for the other side of Temptation"

There was a brief pause from the voice over the speaker, perhaps conferring or seeking their superior, before it spoke again.

"Of course we will welcome any friend that Miss Bai recommends" there was a click and the door swung open "welcome to True Temptation"

The speaker went dead once more as Bai Yun led the way and stepped through the doorway. It was slightly anticlimactic as Noct found himself in more corridor.

They could at least put the door at the main room he thought a little annoyed as he picked apart their planning that way there would be a psychological factor affecting anyone entering. I could understand it for a security matter and to give plenty of prior warning for intruders, but this corridor is clearly too short to make any sort of difference.

Noct grumbled to himself quietly about how he could design a better layout as he followed Bai Yun. The short corridor turned once to the right before opening up onto another, smaller night club.

There was a much bigger focus on privacy here, the shadowy booths taking up most of the space and their occupants were shrouded in the dark. The dance floor here was much smaller and there were far less mammals dancing. And those that were, were extremely skimpily dressed. Occasionally one of the dancers would move over to one of the booths at some unseen signal and disappear from view.

Other mammals, who given their similar apparel appeared to work here, would make their way between the booths carrying trays or briefcases. Noct could easily make out the kinds of transactions that went on, none of the illegal activities going on could escape his sight, and he gave a little sigh.

Come on he thought to himself time for work, there are no more cameras here, I guess some mammals prefer their privacy. Get this done and you can go home to Bruma.

Noct grinned, white teeth flashed briefly in the dark while red eyes gleamed.

"So this is True Temptation" said Bai Yun glancing around the club "I hope it's more to your liking, it is certainly less… how did you put it… ah yes, tame. Would you like to…"

Bai Yun turned to speak to the mysterious Mr Gear and her eyes widened as she found that he had gone. He clearly hadn't moved past her into the club and why would he have returned back the way they came after they had only just entered? Bai Yun blinked a few times and looked to her left and right at the nearby booths but there was no sign of the panther.

Bai Yun frowned for a moment before her brows relaxed and she just let out a deep sigh. She was about to turn and try to worm her way into some of the circles of mammals that existed here when her back suddenly felt very cold.

Bai Yun had lived long enough in a certain type of world to know when she was in danger. And, as she swallowed carefully, right now she felt in more danger than she ever had before. There was something behind her, she couldn't hear anything over the background noise of the club, and she couldn't bring herself to turn her head even a fraction to check but she knew that there was something there.

"My thanks Miss Bai" came a familiar voice from right beside her ear "however I'm afraid we will have to split up here, I have some work I need to attend to. To make up for my behaviour, and for your assistance, Broken Clockwork owes you a favour" still unmoving, Bai Yun watched as a business card fell into her paws, twisting as it went, one side had a phone number while the other had a spiked circle with a crack running through it "if you or your family ever run into a problem you can't deal with, then call that number and Broken Clockwork will solve it for you"

As suddenly as it arrived the frigid feeling of danger behind Bai Yun disappeared. Even then it was only after taking a few deep breaths that the leopard slowly turned around. There was no one there but she had half expected that, Bai Yun glanced around the club but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Well, nothing out of the ordinary for a place filled with drugs and prostitutes she thought bitterly to herself if my family had just a bit more power I wouldn't need to come to such a seedy place.

All of a sudden Bai Yun didn't feel like trying to get into the good graces of any mammal who would visit Temptation. She looked around the club once more, if there was one thing that could be said about Bai Yun it was that she had good instincts, and right now her instincts were telling her to leave. For some reason she had a feeling that there wasn't much point in trying to aim for Randal Wombach anymore. Bai Yun looked down at the card in her paw, after a moment her eyes seemed to lose their confusion and clear up, she carefully tucked the card away as she headed back down the corridor. Thankfully there was a button to open the door from this side so she could leave without having to explain why.

And it's not like this evening was completely wasted Bai Yun thought to herself as she headed for the normal nightclub, and from there the exit There's definitely more to Mr Gear than meets the eye… and when my parents pester me I can tell them that I made a suitable acquaintance.

Noct had very quickly noticed nightclub staff coming and going through a door at the back of True Temptation. From his spot hiding in the shadows of one of the nearby booths, Noct watched the doorway and those going through it intently.

Some of the staff only opened the door enough to slip through, but those that had to carry something of course needed to open the door wider, and those were the ones Noct waited for. With the door held open enough for him to see through it Noct began to piece together what was on the other side.

There was a corridor, rather dim lighting, and he could make out some crates or boxes littered around. All in all, it seemed like the perfect place for him to sneak through. Now he just had to wait for the perfect moment.

Noct's patience came into play here, it took nearly twenty minutes before a good situation occurred and Noct was waiting like a coiled spring for it. An antelope waiter carrying a tray of drinks headed for the door like several others had in the past twenty minutes. This time, however, just before they reached it, the door opened as another mammal entered the club. Through it Noct could see that the corridor was empty and he began to move.

He slipped up behind the antelope as they took their turn to go through the door and followed along like a shadow. True Temptation was quieter than the main club, mammals like to hear themselves think when they did business, so it was rather quiet now that Noct had made it 'backstage' so to speak. There were three routes to take, one to the left and right and one straight ahead, the waiter took the corridor to the left.

Noct silently padded along the corridor behind the waiter, he kept a close eye on all the hiding spots that he could dive into at a moment's notice if needed. Now that he was working with a bit more peace and quiet Noct took a long slow breath and focussed on his senses. The scents and sounds that he had forced down to manageable levels in the club came rushing back.

Noct relaxed a bit, he could hear that the corridor ahead was empty and he followed behind the antelope without worries. After turning a corner the waiter showed signs of slowing and Noct crouched in the shadows of a nearby box and waited. Sure enough the waiter stopped at a door a little further along, knocked once and then opened it.

"You guys look like you could use a break from staring at camera feeds all night" Noct heard the waiter say as they entered the room "you know the drill, one drink and one drink only, don't want the boss to catch you slacking off now"

Noct grinned to himself, now this was a stroke of luck, he had planned to scout the entire floor for any signs of where security was based but it would seem he had chosen the right mammal to follow.

And that's another thing Noct thought to himself why is security so easily accessible from the nightclub? I didn't think it would be this close, it's just asking for someone to break in, I'm really starting to question the competence of the architect here. And don't get me started on all these crates lying around…

A minute later and the antelope reappeared, his tray now empty and tucked under his arm, he made his way back down the corridor towards the club and was oblivious to the panther curled up surprisingly small in the shadow of a crate.

Noct waited till the waiter was out of sight before he closed his eyes and focussed on his hearing once more. It seemed clear, other than the mammals in the security room he couldn't hear any others nearby, and Noct reached inside his shirt for one of the many packets hidden about his person.

Noct stood from where he had been hiding and approached the door. It had seemed fairly quiet when the antelope had opened it but Noct was taking chances, he opened the door veeeeery slowly in order to keep it silent, he had done more serious jobs where he had taken to oiling every door he had to open but Noct didn't think Mr Wombach warranted that level of effort.

The door opened without disturbing anyone within and Noct slipped into the room shutting the door behind him just as carefully. One of the walls was covered top to bottom with screens showing the live feed from all the CCTV cameras dotted around the building. Beside that was a large desk with several computers set up, a wolf and a llama were sat in swivel chairs, at the moment their attention was on talking to each other and enjoying the drinks that had just been delivered.

Noct's lips twitched up slightly as he grasped the packet of black powder. With one silent movement Noct tore the packet apart and sent the powder scattering across the room where it floated gently in the air and caught the wind. This particular drug Noct liked to call Sandman, and true to its name, within moments the two mammals dropped their drinks and slumped back in their seats fast asleep.

Noct waved a thick patch of the powder hanging in the air away from his face, sleeping drugs had the least effect on him, he was practically immune to the stuff which was why he spread it with reckless abandon. The drug itself would break down within a few minutes of being released from its sealed container, leaving behind a simple layer of dust that couldn't be traced to anything. And the two security mammals would be in for a good few hours sleep that no one would be able to rouse them from.

Pushing the two chairs out of the way Noct moved up to the computers.

"Bakari, I'm at the security room, plugging in your USB now" rumbled Noct quietly as he pulled the piece of electronics in question out of his pocket and slotted into one of the ports on the nearest computer.

"About time" came the grumbling reply "come on, I'm getting antsy… oh, wait a minute, aha! And I am in"

The computer screen suddenly came to life as window after window of data began to open by itself.

"Remember the procedure?" asked Noct as he leant against the desk and watched Bakari get on with her work.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, I'll erase you from any video footage" as Bakari said that another window opened up on the computer screen that showed various video footage blinking past at high speed "more importantly for you… here is the building layout"

Noct nodded to himself as a blueprint appeared on the screen in front of him. It was a fairly simple design, Noct tried to ignore how poorly thought out bits of it were, and focussed on finding Randal Wombach's office. It was on this floor, all Noct needed to do really was keep following the corridor, the only issue was that there were several other offices and rooms along the way which could mean company.

"There wouldn't happen to be a camera in Randal's office would there?" Noct asked curiously.

It was not as stupid an idea as you would think, if anything did occur in his personal quarters then it would all be caught on tape, and since it was his own property it was simple to keep it private.

"Let me check, uuugh, yes there is but it's encoded, let me just deal with that" there was silence from Bakari for a few minutes "Okay, Mr Wombach is still in his office, guess the info the Rovers gave you checks out, he should stay there for another forty minutes if he keeps to schedule"

Noct nodded again and pulled the USB from the computer, this made no difference to Bakari now, the USB only carried a program to get her access, now that she was in the USB no longer had any use and Noct wasn't going to leave any evidence.

Noct paused at the door to listen carefully once more but the coast seemed clear. He left the room and headed to his right, the security room had no traces of the panther, Bakari's presence on their systems was subtle, and all that was left were the two sleeping mammals who saw nothing out of the ordinary before their impromptu naps. So Noct left on his way deeper into the building completely at ease.

Well, sort of, Noct was still straining his senses for the first signs of another mammal. The store rooms that Noct assumed most of the staff were travelling to and from were located down one of the other corridors so he wasn't expecting to see any staff from the club coming up behind him. What he was on the lookout for were any mammals patrolling ahead of him.

But as Noct prowled further into the bowels of the nightclub, following the blueprints he had memorised, he saw neither hide nor hair of anyone else. An ear twitched when Noct finally heard something, as he got closer Noct could make out at least seven distinct voices coming from one of the adjacent rooms. Noct prepared himself but, after listening properly for a few moments, he deflated a bit.

There were indeed seven other mammals in the room just up on his left and they were indeed guards and muscle for Randal Wombach however… they were currently all far too drunk to be any cause for concern. From the sounds of it Noct would be impressed if any of them even managed to make it out into the corridor without falling over.

Disappointing guards aside, the route towards Randal Wombach's office was completely empty. Noct stopped in front of the door and glanced around a few times, he half wanted someone to jump out and make things more interesting but he could hear that he was alone, apart from Mr Wombach himself.

Shaking his head Noct got down to business, he dropped to all fours and checked the bottom of the door, the gap was too small to see anything but that wasn't why he was looking. Noct was actually checking for the light levels in the room, from the looks of it there was a light source inside but it was not particularly powerful and wasn't near the doorway.

Sounds like a desk lamp Noct pondered Lighting… that's another point, I get it in the club but really why isn't the rest of this place lit up, I could get in unnoticed even if there were guards on patrol with all the shadows around here.

Standing up once more Noct very gently opened the door, just a fraction to get a better view and indeed most of the room was quite dim, Noct carefully opened the door wide enough for him to slip inside and closed it again. Thankfully the corridor outside was also poorly lit up and Randal Wombach was working under his desk lamp so didn't notice the slight change in illumination while the door was open.

Randal Wombach liked schedules. Randal Wombach liked notes. He especially liked to keep notes about his schedules. Which was what he was doing right now; every Friday, for an hour, he would copy the important information he had compiled throughout the week into his notebooks. For the first half hour, which he was still in, he would record the 'safe' information in one set of notebooks. Then for the second half hour Randal would retrieve his other notebooks and record the illegal gains for the week. Those notebooks were kept hidden away at all times, unless he had a use for them they would stay hidden till he needed to write in them and then they would go straight back into storage.

Randal's ears twitched, the room was still nice and quiet just as he liked it, but something seemed to be irritating him. He shook his head to try and clear it but the oppressive feeling in his ears wouldn't go away, it was like there was something just beyond his hearing and he could almost feel his fur rising on end.

Randal's nose twitched, the potted plants dotted around the room still gave off a pleasant and natural smell, but something seemed to be irritating him. He took a deep breath to try and see what it was but couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary. And then right at the end of his inhalation there was a faint sweetness. It was so brief that he wasn't sure if it was real and took another deep breath.

Randal's eyes twitched, everything still looked the same and nothing was out of place, but something seemed to be irritating him. He blinked a few times and his desk seemed to twist slightly in the dimness. He rubbed his eyes this time and looked down again, there was nothing wrong with his desk and he sat back in his chair.

Perhaps I've overworked myself Randal dismissed that idea, he ran to perfect schedule and nothing had gone wrong so far unless my schedule is slightly too much and all this has been building up for a long time.

Randal sighed and put down his pen, he reached for the line of switches on his desk to switch on the main lights for the room, when something caught his eye. There was a flash of red out in the shadowy side of the office and Randal squinted to get a better view, his finger hovering over the light switch but now distracted.

The red flash resolved itself into a pair of bright crimson eyes swaying this way and that in the dark. Randal found himself entranced as the eyes moved round and round, tracing a figure of eight on its side, as they got closer and closer.

And closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer and closer…

Noct snorted softly, he was now stood right in front of Randal's desk and the wombat was sat in his chair staring at the panther dazedly. Noct ignored him for now and reached down to pick up the notebook Randal had been writing in. After flicking through it Noct quickly noticed that there wasn't anything incriminating written inside and dropped it back on the desk. The pile of paper that was next to the notebook however contained clear details of Mr Wombach's shadier dealings.

Well if nothing else, I can use this I guess thought Noct before turning back to Randal himself.

"Do you record your illegal dealings?" asked Noct.

"Yes…" said Randal rather robotically.

"Where are these records?"

"In my safe…"

"Show me"

Randal Wombach climbed to his feet rather unsteadily and wobbled his way over to the wall on the left of the room. Lifting a small still life painting of a bowl of fruit out of the way, Randal revealed a keypad built into the wall. Noct sighed at the rather cliché hiding spot but what could you do.

There was a mechanical hiss and Noct's eyebrow raised slightly as the section of wall to their left slid open to reveal a hidden space. Randal walked to the back of this area, where a hefty looking safe was built into the back wall, and began to use another keypad. Noct's attention however had been caught by what took up the rest of the hidden space.

A cage. A cage with an occupant. There was a medium sized racoon curled up as small as he could make himself in the farthest corner of the cage. He had looked up the moment the wall had opened but flinched back when he saw that it was just the wombat. He looked up again when he realised that there was someone else there as well, the racoon's eyes met the panther's and he quickly diverted his gaze.

Noct turned back to Randal just as the safe opened with a clang, the wombat stood off to the side swaying slightly as Noct stepped up to check the safe. It was pretty empty, a small amount of cash was the only thing other than three notebooks which Noct picked up and flicked through. He grinned, this was more than enough to satisfy Adeline, and pocketed the notebooks.

"Go back to your seat" Noct ordered Randal "forget and sleep!"

Noct snapped his fingers and Randal slowly stumbled his way back to his desk where he sat down. Almost immediately after, his eyes rolled up into his skull and the wombat slumped face first onto the desk, fast asleep. Noct spat to one side, it had only been a very light hypnosis and the wombat had completely caved, clearly a mammal with a weak heart and mind.

"How did you do that?" came a rather cracked voice, the racoon had now realised that Noct wasn't associated with Mr Wombach.

"Visual, chemical, and auditory hypnosis" said Noct simply as he stepped up to the edge of the cage and began to inspect it "Is this just iron? It's pretty shoddy work whatever it is"

The claws on Noct's right paw flicked out and he brought one of them up to the top of one of the cage bars experimentally. It carved through the metal like playdough, less resistance than Noct had been expecting.

"Yep, iron" said Noct to himself as he proceeded to cut through five or six more bars "I mean, I guess it's fine if you're just dealing with foxes or racoons, but it's not much use if something out of the ordinary occurs"

With the bars cut at the top Noct reached out and grabbed the top of the cage with his right paw and one of the partly severed bars with his left. With a small grunt Noct's muscles bulged as he pulled the bar down, bending almost in half till Noct was satisfied. The racoon just sat there in stunned silence, his muzzle hanging open, as Noct worked his way along the rest of the bars. Once the last one was bent down to the ground Noct stood back and folded his arms.

"Well come on" said Noct gesturing to the hole he had now made in the cage "unless you want to stay here"

Noct's words seemed to rouse the racoon and he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and clambered out of the gap. He was about to turn and thank the panther for freeing him when he saw black dust billowing in front of his face. Noct reached out and grabbed the racoon before he could hit the floor.

"You just get some sleep" Noct said as he left the hidden space, he pressed a button on the first keypad and the wall slid back into place, he tucked the racoon under his arm and checked that the notebooks were still secure "guess I should make a slight detour before I go home"

Noct didn't have any more worries, Bakari was still on their system and would make sure there was no evidence of Noct's presence this evening. Red eyes gleamed in the shadows and then they were gone and Randal Wombach was left alone in his office once more… and the Shade went home.

Consciousness suddenly returned to the racoon and his eyes shot open in shock. There was a dingy grey ceiling above his head, a single lamp without a shade hung in the middle of the room, and straight away he recognised that his surroundings were different. There was no cage for a start.

"Oh good, you're awake"

The racoon sat up, he found himself on a simple looking camp bed, and as he looked around he noticed how bare the rest of the room was. There were only two other things and that was a table and chair in the centre of the room. The panther who had rescued him was sat there watching him intently.

"Ah" the racoon started to speak but broke into a few coughs first "T-thank you. For saving me I mean, who are you? My name is-"

"Stop right there" said the panther raising a paw "I'll give you some advice, free of charge, never give out your real name so easily… you can call me Gear"

So I guess that's not his real name thought the racoon.

"How did we get out?" he asked curiously "How long have I been asleep?"

"Trade secrets" smirked Gear "it's been about half an hour, we're at one of my disposable locations, now if you'll excuse me I have some phone calls I need to make"

The panther pulled out a phone and rapidly typed in a number, the racoon sensibly decided to keep quiet as the call went through.

"3? This is Gear"

"Oh? You never call me that at work unless you have company"

"I have company" said Gear glancing at the racoon before returning his attention to his call "I need Adeline's personal number"

"That all? Sure, give me a sec, I just finished cleaning up Temptations security footage"

The call ended and the panther waited in silence, the racoon couldn't bring himself to break the quiet, there was something unnerving about the mammal sat at the table. About a minute later and Gear's phone beeped, he glanced down at it and smiled slightly before he started typing in a new number. This time the phone only rang twice before the call was picked up.

"Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"I have my ways Adeline" smirked Gear.

"…Mr Gear? This is a pleasant surprise but I thought we agreed that you didn't need to contact me about this job?"

"That we did Adeline, and I will be dropping the evidence off at Precinct 1 on Sunday evening ready for the start of the week, I feel like Mr Wombach should stew a little over the weekend, however that is not why I am calling" the panther looked over at the racoon huddled on the camp bed once more "there was a... complication when I completed my assignment"

"How so? There shouldn't be anything Broken Clockwork couldn't handle"

"Oh there wasn't, it's just that I came across a captive when I reached the safe, he's one of yours"

"… I see"

"It wasn't really in the job description but I'd feel bad if I just left the guy so I took him with me, however that's as far as my responsibility will go"

"Certainly, my family will take care of it from here, where are you?"

"96, Acacia Street, Savanah Central. The apartment will be unlocked however I will not be present"

With that said the panther ended the call and stood up as he slipped his phone away.

"I will be on my way now, you just need to stay put here" said Gear raising his paws as the racoon began to get agitated "Don't worry, those phone calls were to sort out some support for you, some other racoons are on their way, they'll look after you"

The racoon relaxed when he heard that help was on the way and before he noticed Gear was almost out the door and gone.

"Thank you!"

The panther paused, he looked over his shoulder at the racoon and nodded once, and then he was gone.

Noct was stood in his private elevator at the bottom of Chrysalis Tower, he hadn't pressed a button yet as he wanted to take out his contacts. He was holding the little box that he stored the lenses in but hadn't made a move to remove them just yet. Noct stared into the red eyes that looked back at him in the mirrored wall.

The thrill of representing Broken Clockwork that had gripped him at the start of the night had long since faded. Noct reached out and gently placed his palm on the mirror, his eyes weren't very lively, and he was filled with… disappointment.

"Was that it?" he mumbled to himself "any self-respecting scoundrel could have gotten those notebooks, I could have walked in after taking a Suppressor and it would still have been a walk in the park" Noct sighed and his paw dropped down to his side "is there even any point to Broken Clockwork without a bit of challenge?"

Shaking his head slightly Noct reached up and carefully removed the contacts from his eyes. Emerald irises looked back at him now rather than crimson. Noct pushed the button on the lift, right now he just wanted to get home to his mate, he checked the time on his phone and frowned. His work started late anyway, and the delay with the racoon didn't help things, so Lunette had probably gone to bed by now.

Thinking of Lunette, Noct raised his arm and sniffed, it was still a little faint but the deodorant was wearing off and his natural scent was coming back again. Being a wolf, his mate had a certain attachment to his scent, it made her calm and comfortable and Noct for one found that rather cute.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal his familiar landing. Noct let himself into the penthouse quietly and focussed on his sensitive hearing one last time. There was a gentle breathing coming from the bedroom upstairs which made Noct smile slightly. First things first however Noct opened the stairs down and returned to the room where he had gotten changed earlier in the evening.

This time however he was getting undressed, all his equipment was deftly removed and placed back on the table, he would go through it again in the morning and store away anything that could be used again. The table quickly filled up again, mostly because of the various packets of drugs and powders Noct had on his person that weren't used, but eventually everything had been sorted.

Not bothering to get dressed once more Noct padded out of the room and back down the corridor to the stairs. He started climbing, up into the living room where the floor slid shut behind him, and then further to the upper floor. Noct quietly opened the bedroom door and slipped inside, it was dark but his eyes could see perfectly well, Lunette was curled up with the covers wrapped around her tightly, Noct could never work out how she managed that.

Noct made a quick detour to the bathroom, not because he needed the toilet but to take a suppressor, while his home was dark and quiet at the moment Noct would prefer his senses to be under control when the morning sun rose. There was always a stash of Suppressors in the bathroom cabinet above the sink and Noct quickly dropped one in a glass of water and necked the resultant brew.

He watched in the mirror as his pupils trembled for a long moment before the drug kicked in properly and they returned to their normal round shape. Other than that, Noct could feel his senses dampening slowly but he knew that would take a while, he would be back to normal by the morning.

Rinsing out the glass and placing it back on the sink, Noct dried his hands and then returned to the bedroom. He paused by the bed to just look down at Lunette, he adored her sleeping face, and a good thing too since he saw a lot of it but he just never got tired of it.

Noct shifted the tangled covers and slipped into bed next to Lunette, her ear twitched at the movement and she rolled over to nestle against his chest. She didn't stir, in fact Noct's presence seemed to send her drifting into a deeper sleep. Noct gently stroked the back of Lunette's head a few times before settling down himself. It had been a few days now and Noct was looking forwards to that rare occasion where he could fall asleep with the love of his life in his arms.

Well he thought drowsily regardless of how work goes… I could never complain… if I was coming back to… Bruma…

Two lots of gentle breathing could be heard now, and while it was only going to be for a short time… the Shade slept.