"Alright, lad, give it to us straight. Those dust crystals—where did you obtain them?" With a sharp gaze, Eddie questioned the child.
Nichole appeared to be more at ease. She had no ill will toward the kid. Her only curiosity was what was going through his mind when he stole from the White Fang.
She witnessed firsthand how poorly they treated people. It's nothing more than a miracle that those White Fang soldiers didn't do anything to that boy, or he'll be another victim.
"I already told you, I don't know!" Keijo retaliated.
Nichole spoke up. "Then why did those soldiers back there say you got them from their supposed 'warehouse?'"
Keijo pursed his lips. It was not as easy as he had anticipated. He couldn't fool these two with any of his lies. However, they did see the White Fang attack him, so lying would be pointless.
It looks like I have no choice, huh?
Keijo caved in. "Okay, you want the truth so bad? Here it is. I needed the money, and crystals like those will sell hugely on the black market."
The two friends pondered for a moment. It seemed pretty legit. Just a common thief trying to make it in the Argus, and they were at the right place at the wrong time.
Eddie looked over at the red huntress. "What do you think? Does it hold up?"
"I believe him." His companion gave a nod.
With relief, Keijo sighed. Perhaps he should be more honest to avoid trouble.
As soon as the thief leaped out of his seat and made his way to the door, he felt a firm hand grab hold of his shoulder. He flinched under the pressure.
When he turned back, Nichole's face was blank.
"Hold on, I'm not done yet." She said.
Oh great. What did I do now?
"Uh, yeah?" Keijo shuddered.
"I want you to take me to the warehouse tomorrow."
The green boy was surprised. For a second, he thought that she had caught him stealing the knives from the nearby counter.
"Okay, I can do that. Where do you want to meet up?"
"We can meet at the memorial park around 9 o'clock."
"Sounds like a date. See ya then." Just as Keijo turned to leave, Nichole grabbed him once more.
"You're gonna return those knives?" Quite harshly, the crimson huntress said.
Keijo clenched his jaw. This woman has a good eye. A little too good.
The next morning, Keijo paced back and forth around the park. He looked a little impatient.
Where is she? It's a quarter past 9!
Keijo huffed as he glanced at his watch one more time. He's seconds away from walking off and conducting the "search" himself.
Suddenly, a car pulls up and Nichole stumbles out. She lets out a moan and gives the driver a thumbs up before they pulled off.
"About time," He grumbled, walking up to the red huntress. "You're late."
"Oh, sorry about that." Nichole sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Had a night on the town and got a little too caught up. If you know what I mean~"
"Ew, no."
"Heh, whatever. You ready to go little man?"
"Yeah, let's get this over with."
Both of them went to the warehouse. It was a tedious journey. Keijo wished he could have told Nichole to ask that guy to give him a ride. Much time would have been saved.
As they reached the building, the doors were covered in police tape. This made the thief a little hesitant.
"Come on." Nichole whispered, as she led the way to the back.
Despite being sunny outside, it was pitch black in the warehouse. Keijo could only see Nichole's bright red figure as she walked in front him.
He moved over to what appeared to be an open, shattered container. There was nothing inside but black hole that lied in front of him.
"Find anything?" Nichole asked, approaching him.
"No, there's nothing. Let's look somewhere else."
The duo looked through all the crates in the warehouse, finding the same thing...nothing.
"Hmmm. Looks like someone got to it before we did." Nichole concluded, closing the crate. "Didn't expect the White Fang to move that quickly."
"Me either." Keijo grumbled.
They heard the creak of a door opening just as they were about to give up. Nichole drew Solstice's Edge and motioned for him to move back.
"Who goes there?" She demanded.
"Argus Police." The baritone voice responded. "Come out with your hands up."
"Dammit." With a hiss, the red huntress turned to face her partner. "Just be cool. I got this."
The officer cautiously walked up to them and they raised their hands. He keeps his guard up even as he lowers his gun.
As they got closer, the Argus policeman produced a tiny flashlight and shone it directly in their faces, causing them to squint.
"It's okay officer. I'm a professional huntress." Nichole reached into her back pocket and pulled out her scroll to show proof. "I'm just doing an investigation."
"Same here," the cop said, putting his flashlight and gun aside. "There are some White Fang-related events taking place nearby, so I decided to check it out."
"Have you found anything yet?" Keijo questioned, his voice shaking a little.
Nichole gave him a startled glance. She didn't think he would say anything. She thought he would try to duck behind her or avoid the police entirely.
"No, aside from a few dust crystals and a weapon," the cop answered. "Damn White Fang, thinking that they come here and make it their playground. Someone needs to teach them a lesson and send them back to wherever the hell they came from!"
Nichole and Keijo exchanged awkward glances, not knowing how to respond.
"Anywho, I know you huntsmen are very busy so I'll leave you to it. The sooner we can get rid of that gang, the better." the policeman tipped his hat to them before leaving.
The green youngster exhaled with relief as the doors closed. He was never arrested, despite having a few run-ins with the law. Especially after breaking into this property last night, the last thing he wanted was to get into problems with them.
"I guess I was right. The White Fang did move the crystals before they could get caught." Nichole concluded. "They don't stay in one place for too long. It only makes sense for them to relocate somewhere else and resume their business."
"Where would they go? Argus is a tight-knit city, there's nowhere they can hide without being seen. And with Atlas military just off the coast..."
"I wouldn't say that, Keijo." the red huntress knelt down to pick up a business card. "Even the cleanest places still have dirt on them."
"What's that?"
She handed him the card to analyze.
The thief read it and frowned his brow. "All right? It's a business card to an unknown club. How does that help?"
"Every crook gets together occasionally to talk business or when things go wrong, Keijo. And hanging out in a club is the best method to hide your trail." Nichole explained.
It took him a moment to process but he understood her. Though he had seen television shows where thugs hide out in bars or other types of clubs, he didn't think it would be genuine.
"Makes sense," Keijo responded. "You want to swing by there now or..."
"Patience, little thief. We can't waltz there looking like this! We need some disguises to fit in. And I know exactly where to get some~" Nichole chuckled.
Uh, oh. Keijo didn't like the sound of that. That little smirk on her face was an indicator that nothing good will come out of it.