Silver walked inside the detective agency and found Vector, Charmy, and Tails sitting around the main office desk playing what seemed to be a...board game?
Silver hung his jacket up in rental bag next to the door. It was Tails who noticed them first.
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"Hey, guys! How did the prank go?" He smiled at them eagerly.
Espio looked to Silver as to let him tell the story, then approached Vector and Charmy with the bag.
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Silver turned to him with a relaxed smile. "Actually, before I could do the prank something caused their table to flip over and cause a huge mess." He started to take off the plain white gloves, "They were pissed, especially Silas."
Charmy broke the silence with an excited cheer. "Espio got us food, Vector!" He started to spin enthusiastically. "Oooo, please Espio tell us what you have for us!" He begged.
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"That's so cool! Man, what I would've paid to see some footage of that..."
"Since Charmy did such an excellent job with the prank, and it was part of the deal...I ordered the Honey Chicken Extraordinaire dish you've wanted to try-20 ounces, so you can share with Vector."
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Silver nodded. "Same," he looked over to the Chaotix group and saw Charmy literally flying in circles. "I'm going to clean up real quick. Then we can discuss what to do next." He started to walk to the separate bathroom with his personal boots and gloves.
"Pfffft, share? Nah, it's all mine!" The bee looked over to the crocodile who was ready to protest. He went to the bag and started to grab the to-go boxes excitedly.
Silver locked the door behind him and let out a sigh. These disguises were a pain to wash off but he was going to make it quick.
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"So that's why Charmy disappeared earlier!" Tails looked at the trio. "Was he really, really upset?"
"Extremely." Espio responded with a small smile. "He cursed out one of the staff members and left with his date covered in their dinner."
Tails' eyes were beaming with joy as Espio spoke. "Wow."
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After a few minutes of unrelenting scrubbing, he finally got all of periwinkle blue paint off his body. He grabbed a raggedy towel and dried himself off quickly. He pulled on his gloves and boots. He opened the door and walked into the office again.
Charmy stopped stuffing his face long enough to acknowledge Silver's reappearance. "Cotton chest is back looking weird as usual." Silver ignored it and sat next to Tails. He felt so much better now that he was clean.
"So what did we learn about Canstella?" He looked over to Vector.
"Hold on!" The bee exclaimed, all eyes on him. He put down the chicken nugget he was in the middle of eating. "Why are you asking Vector?"
An awkward silence filled the room before Silver could respond. He was a little too late. The bee started again, "I did the prank. I followed them back to their house. If you can call it that." Charmy was actually getting worked up and Silver realized his mistake.
"I'm sorry, Char-" The boy put his chicken nugget up to stop the hedgehog. "Just because I'm young, that doesn't mean I can't do this job. Vector and Espio know what I can do. You clearly don't." Charmy had tears in his eyes and Silver's ears lowered. He didn't mean to hurt his feelings.
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"Hey, hey. Calm down, Charmy. He didn't mean to insult you like that." Vector spoke with a sympathetic tone, "It makes sense that you'd tell me and I piece it together for the investigation. He ain't sayin' you don't know."
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Charmy was still visibly upset but he took another bite of his honey chicken. Silver was thankful the crocodile had said something to defend him. He couldn't expect it to happen again.
He gave Vector a nod and shifted in his chair. He let the uncomfortable moment pass. Charmy decided to answer the question.
"So after ruining their little date, I followed them." He set the chicken down and sat in front of Vector's desk. "Turns out Silas will be sending someone to deliver a message to the Boss." He used his hands to gesture as he spoke.
"He's doing this because he's afraid of delivering the news personally. He mentioned meeting this messenger tomorrow at the hotel." Silver crossed his arms, letting the information sink in.
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"Did you hear something else while you were under the table? Any mention of a person named 'Jon'?" Espio focused on Charmy, ready to continue listening intently.
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"Yeah, the news is about Jon. He betrayed the Mafia, or something like that. Silas said that Canstella was not going to be happy."
Silver withheld a sigh. At least they could go to the hotel and follow the messenger. The messenger should lead them to Canstella. "Anything about the device?"
Charmy looked over to Tails. "They are still looking for it and for you. His bodyguard or his date said something about finding you through your friends." Silver was concerned now, up until this point the Mafia kept it to only Tails, but harming anyone who would have no idea what was happening? Not good.
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"My friends?" He paused, seriousness spreading on his face. How would they find out his connections? He didn't doubt they could, but... "I need to warn them, but Sonic can't find out. They won't be able to catch him; I know he'll be safe."
Espio gave Silver an unsure expression. "Well, we'll be heading to the hotel tomorrow. We should get some rest tonight."
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"Any idea what time they will be there?" Silver asked the young bee. Charmy shrugged, they hadn't mentioned a time. "No, not really. Vector-didn't you say the bonus from that girl was going to be forfeited?"
Silver knew what he was talking about, "I'm still not believing her story." He stood up and sighed. "If she's stopping by I would like to talk to her."
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Vector groaned, not wanting to be reminded of their loss. "She's coming by the morning after tomorrow, actually. We don't have any real evidence or idea of where her father is, so that'll be fun to tell her."
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Silver rubbed his face, Espio was right they needed to sleep. Now he had to face the dreaded question he'd been meaning to ask them. "Is it okay if I stay here for the remainder of the investigation?" He swore he wouldn't be a burden and he was technically free help for them. He figured Vector would be the authority here so he braced himself.
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Vector raised a brow. Espio questioned, "I thought you were staying at the hotel. Are you worried, knowing the mafia convenes there?"
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"That and the fact I have already spent whatever money I had brought with me." He started to fidget with his hands. Nervous with the answer he might get from them. "Just know that I'm not asking to be paid. I'll just return to my time when this is over."
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"Let's say I'm fine with you staying here for however long it takes," Vector leaned back, crossing his arms. "I don't think we really have the space for another body."
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Silver felt slight relief before finally looking over to Tails who was actually a fugitive from the Mafia. "I can sleep anywhere, but what about Tails?" He asked with a worried tone.
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"I'll just sleep in the luggage." He shrugged. "It's actually pretty comfortable when you sleep through the bumps."
"Then I guess you'll be fine after we lend you some pillows." Tails snapped his fingers. "I should've brought my blanket shooter!"
"We have blankets, don't worry."
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Everyone started to settle down in their designated spots. Tails was getting comfortable in his luggage and the Chaotix retreated to their sleeping spaces. Silver looked around with a pillow under his arm. He went over to a tattered arm chair and pulled a chair up for his feet.
He pulled a green blanket over him and leaned back as far as he could. This would do just fine, he looked out the window.
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The fox fluffed up his tails and opened the luggage enough to provide space for the pillow. He curled up on top of it, wrapping his tails around himself and throwing the blanket on for good measure. "Goodnight, Silver."
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Silver heard it from across the room, "Goodnight, Tails." He tried to lay on his side, but it wasn't comfortable. He simply slouched in the chair and closed his eyes, his last thought about Blaze.