Lupin opened his eyes. Staring blearily at the ceiling and wondering why it looked so different, he remembered where he was and what he was doing.

He checked a worn alarm clock by the bedside table. 6:48 a.m. He didn't have much time before he needed to meet his supervisor at 7.

He hastily fitted on his disguise and munched on an apple, taking a look at the schedule. The schedule was generous enough to have a map showing the dormitory floor. He would need to meet Sarina at the far left end of his hallway, next to a laundry room.

Lupin made his way, being sure to crouch and to give the appearance of an elderly woman.

He joined several other employees who looked new and unsure of what to expect.

Sarina gave everyone a warm smile. She was similarly professional to Gerald, but she seemed more personable.

"Good morning, everyone," Sarina began, giving each employee a smile. "We are starting out a bit early today to make sure everyone is trained before our busier hours happen. You have a vital role here. Please know that this resort would not operate without your work. If you have any questions at all, any concerns, anything I can help with, please let me know."

Lupin stared at her. If this were under any under circumstance, for instance, if he wasn't her employee or needed to keep a low profile, he would have absolutely made a move.

"Now," she said, "let's begin."

She showed the employees the washer and dryer machines, how they operated, and the schedule that pointed to the times and days they would need to wash visitors' bedsheets.

She showed them where each of the supply closets were, and for those on certain maintenance rotations, how frequently to check the restrooms and common areas to restock any supplies.

Sarina showed them the outdoor amenities, including the hot tubs, and where the outdoor tools to clean and preserve the outdoor spaces were kept.

They had covered several floors by the time Sarina gave them each a piece of paper detailing what shifts they would have, and the duties they would perform. Lupin was relieved to find that he would have the morning and day shift, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., performing indoor housekeeping and cleaning duties. This meant he could use the late night hours to search the grounds for the diamond processing plant. Despite what his heart said as he watched Sarina walk away, and he was instructed to shadow a few employees who had similar duties as he would, being an elderly widow had its perks.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. He stayed close to a few people, saying little as he observed the employees performing the tasks, and looking out for any offices or grand suites that could potentially point to a place Bellman would stay, or keep personal information.

It was strange when they left the dingy confines of the dormitory floor to the opulent floors where the guests stayed. They could only dawdle long enough to grab bedsheets and sweep or wax the floors. Even the bathrooms radiated luxury. Lupin peered at the bidets at each toilet with interest. The others, who were well accustomed to their schedules at this point, were unfazed by the grandeur.

Lupin followed the group back to the dormitory floor and was relieved to find they were headed to a crowded cafeteria for lunch. He was surprised by how famished he felt. Though it had ready-made sandwiches and warmed side dishes on shelves, the cafeteria, based on size, was more of a break room. In keeping with his disguise, he marveled at the food and commiserated with the elderly employees about the length of the day and aching limbs.

Before he knew it, the group had finished lunch and it was back to work. A sports team had left the resort earlier that day, leaving most of one of the hallways and rooms empty before they would be occupied by other guests. It was a good opportunity to give each place a deep cleaning. Lupin wiped his forehead as he scrubbed the floors and cleaned the furniture, trusting that the adhesive that held his wig in place would remain impervious to sweat.

Cleaning the rooms the sports team occupied took up most of the afternoon, and Lupin was glad to find that they only needed to do a few more tasks before they could trade shifts with the evening crew. Once he was back in his room, he checked to see whether employees could use any of the facilities that guests could. It might be easier to surreptitiously check files and records if, for example, he were on his way to one of the spas.

As it turned out, employees could use two vouchers a month to use any facilities in the resort, including the spa or skiing. Anything else would need to be paid out of pocket, though at a discount. Even with the discount, paying for any of the facilities would cost half of a year's wages, so it didn't seem particularly worthwhile.

Back in his room, out of the purview of the security cameras, he planned out where he would go first. Diamond Hill, one of the largest slopes at the first, seemed to be an obvious first choice. Though Lupin sensed Bellman could be savvy enough to build an underground diamond factory in another slope, and use the name Diamond Hill as a decoy. It wouldn't hurt to look, and he could start file hunting once he got another day to suss out how the security cameras worked.

He made another container of cup noodles and waited, continuing to plan his route and dozing off until the alarm clock read 1:30 a.m.

Fitting on a black body suit and mask that would help him blend into the dark, Lupin opened the window and crept out. It was freezing. The suit was well insulated and waterproof, but he wasn't sure how it'd do outside for hours.

Because the resort had electricity to kill, presumably, the ski lift was still operating. Lupin crouched inside, making sure he would be hidden from the floodlights outside the resort. As the lift rose further, the glare of the floodlights slowly vanished. It grew quieter until Lupin only heard the wind and the almost soundless whir of the lift. The snow at the top of Diamond Hill padded his landing as he jumped off the lift. He turned on a flashlight attached to the mask's forehead and spent the next few hours searching for any hidden entrances.

It was exhausting work, and unsuccessful. He couldn't find anything. The suit's insulation was wearing off, and Lupin felt his extremities start to go numb. He managed to clamber onto a passing lift and rode the descent back to the resort. He was glad he shoved a glow-in-the-dark calling card just outside his window. He might have missed his window out of the 60 others on his end of the resort. Noiselessly, he scaled up the wall to his window and crept into the room. Lupin wasn't sure how he opened the window, his fingers so numb he fumbled as he closed the window and limped toward the tiny bathroom.

Lupin wondered if it would arouse suspicion if he took a shower. Remembering that it was now 5:30, he decided it'd fit Clara Rothwell to be an early riser, eager to start the day before the sun rose.

Shivering, he massaged his hands and feet as he turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. He stepped inside the shower. As the water started to feel less like stinging bullets against his skin and more like heat sinking into his bones, Lupin felt himself relax. Yeah, he'd definitely try file hunting tonight, maybe come back early so he could sleep for a few hours.

His second day as a maintenance specialist was more difficult than his first day. He was no longer shadowing the group, was easily distracted, and had to ask a few of his coworkers where the nearest supply closet was.

He didn't have a lot of time to plan out where he would need to break in in order to search for records or get a good look at the security systems in place. However, he was able to see that he could bypass the camera system relatively easily, and outside of safe codes, there weren't much security around a lot of the files in the building.

Lupin wanted to collapse into bed the moment he was done for the day, but he forced himself to swallow a container of cup noodles (is this how Pops spent every meal?) and change into the same nylon outfit he wore yesterday (it had since dried after he came back in from the snow).

He set out just after 2 a.m. this time, making quick work of disabling the security cameras and searching two or three reference rooms in the resort's presidential offices. The unsuccessful search further proved to Lupin what he had suspected. Bellman must keep the documentation about the plant close to his chest. Either Lupin would need to wait until Bellman showed up to the resort in person or keep looking around the slopes until he was lucky enough to find the entrance.

Unlike last night, Lupin was able to get back before 5 a.m. and get a needed hour or two of sleep. The third day passed in a similar blur to the first two days. He had a better sense of his surroundings, was able to find the supply closets without help. Lupin could see, even with the opulence of the main floors and facilities, how the work became rote, routine. In some ways, it made the time passed by quickly. In other ways, he was ready to get back to his room at the end of the day.

He grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria and ate it in his room, deciding to sleep for a few hours before venturing out into the slopes again. Lupin set out around 1 a.m., deciding to tackle the resort's largest hill, Smykker Mountain, stowing away again on the lift.

It was no more pleasant to be at the top of a steep hill in freezing weather than it was the other night. Lupin felt discouragement set in after more than an hour of searching. To keep himself company, he pulled out a communication device and pressed a button, waiting to hear Jigen or Goemon's voice on the other line. It would be about 10 a.m. in Tokyo right now.

It was Jigen who answered. "What's up?"

"Good morning, Jigen!" Lupin sang, trying to move away from the wind. "Let me ask you something: If you were a billionaire who hid his underground diamond production plant below one of your slopes, where would you keep the entrance?"

Jigen paused. ". . . I'm not a billionaire."

"Which is why I'm asking hypothetically," Lupin countered.

"I'm guessing finding this underground plant isn't going well?" Jigen asked.

"Just haven't gotten any leads yet," Lupin responded, keeping his voice down and spotting a thicket of trees off the slope's course. "I checked some of the files and looked at two of the larger slopes. Bellman hasn't made it easy."

"I guess he wouldn't make it easy," Jigen replied. "If I hear anything, I'll let you know." Lupin thought he heard Jigen type something on a keyboard.

"It's 3 a.m. there?!" He asked.

"Mmmhm," Lupin said, grinning. "Just a late night stroll."

"And you're not in danger? No one following you?"

"Nope," Lupin answered. "Don't think anyone has suspected a thing."

"Good," Jigen said, then paused. It occurred to Lupin how strange it was that they were talking to each other from a continent away.

"Well, don't stay out on the slopes too late," Jigen warned, a grin in his voice. "If you get pneumonia, I don't have enough to pay for your hospital bills."

"Not to worry. If I find this, I'll pay every bill for the rest of my life in diamonds."

Lupin grinned as he heard Jigen's laugh on the other line.

"Sounds good to me. Well, talk to you later."

"Later, Jigen."

Lupin hung up, pausing to smile before putting the communicator device down and rolling up his sleeve. Jigen was right. He had already been at the slope for nearly two hours. He'll head back, shower, and sleep as much as he could before his shift started.