As the heavy doors swung open, Fii immediately caught sight of Orion behind his usual post at the front ter. He wore a crisp, white shirt and a navy vest, with a bck tie draped loosely around his neck. His silver-flecked hair was slicked back, and his bright, hazel eyes twinkled in the dim light.

  He was absorbed in a leather-bound book, propping his head up with a hand. Wheiced Fii and Virgil ehe library, he straightened and closed the tome with a snap. He rose from his seat, smiling warmly.

  "Ah! Fii! Such a pleasure to see you again, dear girl! I see you've brought a friend." Orion turo face Virgil with a beaming smile, extending his hand toward him. "Wele to the Gilded Library, where knowledge awaits with open arms."

  Fii elbowed Virgil and whispered, "Say hello back, don't be rude."

  "Ah, greetings." Virgil accepted Orion's proffered hand and shook it, dipping his hat iing. "I take it you're the owner of this establishment?"

  Orion ined his head graciously. "Indeed. You must be quite a perceptive fellow." He withdrew his hand and tugged on his vest, smoothing the material. "Now, how may I be of service today?"

  Fii expihe situation briefly to Orion, expining how they o obtain a detailed map of the slums, or at least a list of old building names and locations.

  "Ahh, I see." Orion stroked his thoughtfully. "I suppose I may be able to offer something along those lines." He adjusted his gsses and motioned for them to follow him. "Please, e this way. I may have something of use to you in our catalog."

  Oriohem deeper into the library, past rows of shelves and tables den with books and scrolls, until they arrived at a circur reception desk, lit by the glow of several mps hanging above it. An ornate globe of the earth and a brass mp rested upon a round, wooden tabletop. His fiips glided lightly over several dusty tomes and papers scattered across the surface before he pulled out a rge scroll from the pile and unfurled it over the table. The part kled slightly us ow as Orio go of the ends.

  The scroll showed a detailed yout of the slums, plete with street names and ndmarks.

  Fii hardly reized most of them, though. She guessed only a handful of the ndmarks still existed. Everything else had probably fallen apart by now. The buildings surrounding those markers were likely repced with shanties. It seemed like nothing stayed the same in the slums. Nothing, except this library, thankfully.

  "Iing." Virgil gazed down at the a paper, studying the tents ily. He traced his finger along various routes and pathways. "This is actually incredibly detailed. This must be from the time period directly before the metropolis development project began."

  "Yes indeed," Orion agreed, nodding solemnly. "Some of these roads, alleyways, and interses have ged sihen, though I would assume you could extrapote from this and your own knowledge to find what you're looking for."

  Fii sed the map, taking in every detail as best as she could.

  Kijiru Pharmaceuticals, Kijiru Pharmaceuticals, e on...be here somewhere... Fii squinted, straining her eyes, searg for any trace of the building's name. After several minutes, she spotted a faint bel scribbled in the far right er of the part. The tiny marker artially obscured by a watermark, but she could just barely make out the word "Kijiru."

  There! Gotcha, you little sucker.

  She jabbed her fi the location, triumphant. "There!" She gnced over at Virgil, who had been her with mild amusement. "Loht there, Virgil."

  He bent over and squi where she ointing. "Hmm, yep. Looks like this is the pce. Seems like we owe you a debt of gratitude, Mr. Orion. This is exactly what we needed."

  Orion ughed cheerfully, waving away the ent with a wave of his hand. "Oh, pish-posh, please, suality! Just call me Orion. Mister makes me feel so old!"

  "But you are old," Fii muttered under her breath, smirking.

  "Now, now, I heard that," Orion chided pyfully, ping Fii's cheek in reproach. "I have excellent hearing for my age, you know."

  He smiled brightly at them and rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Anyway, I digress! We were talking about maps. Is there anything else you might need assistance log? Any other information, perhaps?"

  Fii gnced around the room, her gaze falling upon stacks of old, discarded books lying on tables. "How about a book reendation? Maybe something like a novel, or a fantasy story or something."

  "A book, you say? Yes, certainly." Orion circled around the receptionist ter and beed her forth, his hand h in the dire of a nearby bookshelf. "Perhaps I might i you in one of these titles?"

  He indicated a colle of leather-bound novels lined up ly on the shelves. A yer of dust coated the tops of their spines, giving them a faihereal glow.

  Fii walked over, scrutinizing them carefully. Her eye caught on a particur title: The Saga of Ebonheim, Volume 1. She pulled out the book, runnihumb along the gold lettering embossed on its spihehe dust off, causing tiny motes to scatter and disappear in the air. A soft, rich, pleasant aroma wafted from its pages, and she flipped the cover open to peek inside, inhaling the smell. "I like this one. Yeah, this is nice."

  "Wonderful! The Saga of Ebonheim is an excellent choice, a cssic. Very eaining." Orion tapped his with a fiip, gng down at the tome thoughtfully. "Though, do keep in mind that this story is inplete. I don't believe the author ever pleted writing the rest of the series, sadly."

  "It's okay. That's fine," Fii assured. "I'll make do. Thanks."

  "All right, I'll add it to your borrowing record." Orion took the book from Fii's hands and opened a ledger, scribbling iry with a fountain pen. As he wrote, he called over til, "And you, sir? Anything I might reend for you? Or perhaps a certain type of book?"

  Virgil's brows furrowed, and he shook his head. "Ah, no, thank you. I'm good, I suppose. It's been a while since I st read a novel, or...anything." He hesitated, frowning thoughtfully. "I re I'd be hard-pressed to find much I enjoy, but I'll keep a."

  "Uood." Orion dipped the nib of his pen in a crystal inkwell, adding to the tally of Fii's test borrowing. He blotted the ink dry and handed Fii her new book, nodding amiably. "Feel free to browse around. I'll be at the ter if either of you requires my help."

  Virgil nodded his thanks and walked off, leaving Fii to admire her reasure.

  The rich smell of aged paper filled her nostrils, and the book felt oddly heavy in her hands. Its weight, the rough texture of its covers, the sound of paper rustling as she fahe pages—she loved all of these things.

  Perfect! She grinned gleefully as she held it to her chest protectively, practically hugging it. Man, she couldn't wait to dive in after they'd dealt with this Shiver problem.

  She headed out the door after waving goodbye to Orion. As she left the warmth of the library, she bumped intil, who had been leaning against the wall outside. He raised an eyebroushed off the wall. "All good?"

  "Yep. So, I'm guessing the pn is to scout out the pce first, then e back there in two days to crash their tradeoff, right?" Fii said as she tucked the book under one arm.

  "Pretty much, yeah," Virgil replied with a nod. "We'll have to observe and make preparations for two days before we move in. During that time, we should learn as much about the area and the Vipers' habits as possible. Figure out who to watch, where to stay out of sight. Stuff like that."

  "Cool, cool. Sounds good. Let's hit it, then."

  "Based on what we saw on that map, I have a rough guess of where it is." Virgil lifted his , direg Fii to follow. "Let's get a move on. We should be able to locate it before su."

  Fii smirked and pced her free hand on her hip, turning to face him. "Bet I spot it quicker than you ."

  "Really?" Virgil cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Care for a wager, then?"

  "Yeah, sure. Twenty Tinks says I'll find it first. And you'd better pay up once we're done." She stuck her hand out resolutely. "Deal?"

  "Thirty," Virgil challeaking Fii's proffered palm. "And you're on."

  "Sonovabitch," Virgil swore under his breath as he watched Fii scramble ahead. "That little hustler."

  She moved nimbly through the crowded alleys and pathways, using her smaller frame to her advantage. He narrowed his eyes, watg her slip past people and skid around ers effortlessly. Every turook led him further and further away from her.

  Damn, the girl was qui her feet.

  Virgil scowled as he dodged a street vendor and shoved his way through a crowd of loiterers idling on the sidewalk. He spied a gap in the crowd and dove for it, trying to get a glimpse of Fii, who was steadily disappearing from view.

  He caught a brief fsh of her white hair bobbing in and out of view before she vanished entirely. Sighing irritably, he broke into a jog. He cut a path through the throngs of people milling about, ign the curses flung his way as he maneuvered through the crowds.

  Virgil recalled that the map had shown the building situated close to an interse of two main thhfares, near se water towers. Based on the old ndmarks he reized, the building should be in the viity. He just had to locate the water towers first and start from there.

  He ducked his head and navigated through the maze of shanties and makeshift hovels, trying to pick out the familiar ndmarks that matched the ones on the map. Finally, he spotted a few rge, metal tankers perched atop a crete ptform, surrounded by rusting feng and debris.

  That's it! That's the ndmark. Now, where's the building?

  He squinted, sing the area. The structure itself wasn't visible from his current position, but he k had to be nearby. He inched forward, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that resembled a warehouse or a factory. Suddenly, he spotted a cluster of dipidated, crete buildings rising from the rubble to his right.

  Bingo.

  "Took you long enough to find it!" Fii yelled from atop one of the water towers. She sat cross-legged with her elbow resting on one knee, cupped in her palm. "So, thirty Tinks, yeah?"

  "You hustled me," Virgil muttered ftly, gazing up at her. He scratched the back of his ned sighed, digging into his pockets for the payment. "Didn't think you'd notice the water towers on the map."

  Fii grinned slyly as she leaped from the tower and nded with catlike gra front of him, holding out her open palms in front of her. "It's not a hustle if you make a bet and lose fair and square. Cough it up."

  "Cheeky." He dropped the s into her waiting hands, lips quirking upwards. "Guess I was wrong about you, kid. You know your stuff. A lot more than I gave you credit for."

  "Got that right," she bragged, pocketing her winnings. "So, what's ?"

  Virgil gestured with a hand and started walking toward the derelict building. "Entry points, exit points, window vantage points, anything and everything we might o know. e on. I want to scope this pce out properly."

  Fii followed him, skipping slightly as she trailed behind his long strides.

  As they approached the abandoned building, Virgil assessed its exterior, noting the faded, peeling paint on the walls and the broken windows. They circled the perimeter, examining the rear and side entrances. He observed Fii out of the er of his eye as she climbed on top of a rickety old feo get a better view.

  She reminded him of himself when he was younger, full of energy aement, with a thirst for adventure. She possessed a natural curiosity and an innate desire to explore, traits that he admired. Still, she cked discipline araint, always rushing in without thinking. A quality like that could get her killed, and he was determio keep that from happening.

  They proceeded to explore the interior of the building, weaving through the corridors and poking around ers. He tested the doorknobs, cheg them for ease of entry and security. Fii searched the upper floors, sc every crevid alcove.

  As they worked their way around the building, Virgil's mind wandered.

  The thug that he pilfered the note from fshed across his thoughts. The possibility of him being a Viper spy was not too far-fetched, but unlikely. It'd be stupid to carry around an important note like that on their person while posing as a Knight. A more likely sario was that he looted it from a sin Viper a it for himself.

  Now the question was—did that guy or anyone else from the Neon Knights mao uand the tents of the notes? If they did, they'll probably make a move to stop this exge from going through, too.

  The Neon Vipers are probably aware that this information got leaked out, which meant that they would be cautious about their deal. Would they take ara measures to secure the location and make sure nobody else shows up besides the intended buyers? That depends on how fident they are. If they think they handle any interruptions easily, then they might not bother doing anything special.

  Virgil sidered the possibilities and potential risks. In the event of an all-out battle between rival gangs, at least it'd be tained within the premises instead of spilling out onto the streets. Less colteral damage. He could just let them duke it out and have Fii finish the job ohe dust settles. Less hassle that way.

  The problem would be if the Neon Viper's leader, "Cobra" Kasumi, were present. It'd been over a decade since he st entered the infamous woman, but his memory of her skills was sharp and vivid. She'd be a tough fight for Fii, who cked experience fag off against professional criminals.

  Well, as long as Fii doesn't fight like an idiot, she should be fine.

  "Hey, Virgil."

  "Hm?" He gnced over at Fii, snapping back to reality. "What?"

  Fii shrugged, stretg her arms above her head. "Nothing much. I've been rambling nonstop, but you didn't make your usual snarky ents. Spaced out?"

  Virgil shook his head. "Nah, just...thinking, I suppose. So, what did you say?"

  Fii repeated herself, reting what she found out while expl the building. "The inside is kinda trashed. Buncha broken furniture and old equipment everywhere. No sign of anyone living here, surprisingly. Could be because the gangs cleared out all the squatters beforehand. Makes sense. Not like the Vipers will want anybody stumbling in on their business during a deal like that."

  "Fair point." Virgil nodded slowly, pting the ramifications. "What about the upper levels? Find anything useful?"

  "Not really." Fii ran a hand through her short white hair, scratg her scalp absentmindedly. "Just a bunpty rooms. No furniture or beds or anything like that. Just junk everywhere, with lots of broken windows." She kicked at a pile of rubble with the toe of her sneaker, sending ks of crete scattering across the floor.

  She hopped to a window ledge and perched on the edge, swinging her legs bad forth zily. "There's a fire escape out here, though. Good fetting in and out."

  Virgil examihe rusted steel railing, his eyes trailing to the ground below. "Seems stable enough. Keep that in mind for wheurn. Are there any other access points?"

  "Yeah, there's a back door that leads to an alleyway, and a stairwell that goes down to a parking garage in the basement," Fii reported, ting off with her fingers. "Other than that, there's just a frorahat's pretty exposed, but we sneak around using the side streets nearby. There are some niooks and ies for hiding in. Good pces to set up a stakeout, maybe."

  Virgil mentally filed away the information, abs her words with a nod of approval. "How much you wanhat they'll make the trade in the basement?"

  "Basement? Why there?" Fii tilted her head. "Wouldn't upstairs be safer, where they see anybody ing in? Nobody wants to do a drug deal in a creepy dungeon, y'know. That's where you'd go to die. Also, cobwebs." She shuddered dramatically, shaking her head in disgust. "Ugh."

  Virgil rolled his eyes, amused. "Because of the secrecy of the deal, they'll most likely want to duct the transa somewhere hidden. The basement provides easy access to exits and vehicles, and gives the buyers an escape route. Plus, the dim lighting helps obscure any suspicious as or ons. It's easier to hide in the shadows there and catch potential intruders off guard."

  "Huh." Fii stared bnkly at the space between her feet. ", I guess. Good point."

  Virgil peered outside through a hole in the gss, where he could just make out the distant street lights flickering in the fading twilight.

  "Looks like the day's almost over. Time to head back. e on." He extended his hand toward her, gesturing towards the exit. "We'll be ba two days to this up. Until then, keep in mind what we just talked about, and practice what you've learned. I expect you to be on top of yame."

  Fii jumped off the ledge and strolled over, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. "Got it, boss man."