Lonely Thieves

Act IV, Part IV

Norah's Side (April 13, 6:30 pm)

Norah and Maize returned to the bar, with no results to show for all their hard work. They climbed the stairs up to the sweepers' office, where Robert and David were already discussing what they'd found. Maize joined them as Norah took a rest by sitting down on a nearby chair.

"Did you find anything interesting?" Maize asked hopefully.

"Not exactly. We got a few eyewitnesses, but nobody knows exactly where she went."

"That's going to make things tough. I thought at least someone would have seen her."

"Well, our way of searching is too ineffective. We knew the moment we lost her that it was gonna be an uphill fight."

Norah sighed. If they didn't find her, she didn't see the point in laboring over it. She would have preferred to stay out on the street and keep searching, but Maize insisted on meeting up. The sweepers were surprisingly professional, considering their line of work.

"Oh, right, the Innocenti SS," Maize suddenly remembered. "Should we do anything about that?"

"Better not, especially if they're not involved in our situation." Robert turned to Norah and gave her an inquisitive glance. "And you're sure the Innocenti have nothing to do with the girl we're looking for?"

"I'm certain," Norah replied instantly. "I have no idea what the Innocenti are doing here."

She wasn't lying. It was true that the Innocenti had some stake in recovering the emerald necklace, but the Overman Foundation were already in charge of that. There was no need for the Innocenti to stick their head in, and there was especially no need to send Special Soldiers.

Robert sighed. "Well, we'll need to start from square one. We've got no more leads, and she could be anywhere in the district. If it weren't for the lockdown, I'd say it was impossible."

"I suppose it can't be helped," Norah said glumly. "Well, I'll be helping search too. With this much ground to cover, you can't deny my help."

"I can't argue with that," Robert nodded. "But make sure you let us know what you're doing."

"Of course," Norah said as she stood up from the chair. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Norah walked down the stairs and out of the bar, stepping out into the cool night air of Twilight. She looked out at the streets, still crowded with people, and wondered if Megumi was somewhere among them. As she wondered hazily about where she might be, she suddenly received a call on her phone.

It was Edgar. Norah picked up the phone and took the call as she shivered from a cool night breeze blowing through the alleyway.

"You know, if you're going to have me do all this for you, the least you could do is keep in contact with me."

"Sorry. I've been busy. I spent all day running around the Morning Star district."

"The Morning Star district?" Norah could hear Edgar audibly groan. "Isn't that place under lockdown now?"

"Sure, but the girl I'm looking for is also here, so I'm still hot on the trail."

"Got it. So you don't need me running errands for you anymore?"

"I suppose not. Still, you should keep an eye on your phone in case I need you."

"Burning through favors, are we?" Edgar sighed. "What's even the point?"

"I need to find this girl. I just have to."

"You said that before. What are you going this far for in the first place?"

Norah didn't answer. Well, it was more that she couldn't answer. Edgar seemed to sense the awkwardness growing between them and coughed to break up the silence.

"Never mind. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Anyway, I'll talk to you later!"

Edgar hung up, and Norah put away her phone and looked up at the night sky. That question hung heavy on her mind. She really didn't know why she was putting so much effort into searching for Megumi. Of course, there was the threat of arrest on her mind, but Ingrid Hayasaka hadn't contacted her in a while. She didn't know if she had found Megumi on her own or was distracted by something else, but sometimes Norah would forget that she was being tracked in the first place.

Of course, her original motivation for getting involved in the matter of the necklace wasn't much in the first place. The reason she became a Night Hunter was largely monetary; she needed money, so she decided to take the job. Still, her need wasn't that bad; the reward was massive, but the situation had already gotten so bad that it wouldn't have been strange for her to just bow out of the whole job by now. The only reason she was still around was because of the trackers Hayasaka Security had placed on her.

But so what? If she had wanted to, there were many ways for her to get away from Hayasaka's surveillance. It wouldn't have been easy, but something could have been done. She had subconsciously surrendered to the idea that she was caught by Hayasaka, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Norah?"

As she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard her name being called out. She turned around to see a woman in casual clothes standing behind her. Though it had been a while since she had last seen her, Norah recognized her as Carol, one of her former co-workers when she was still on the force.

"It is you, Norah!" Carol ran up and threw her arms around Norah. "I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been?"

"Fine." Carol was a friend, but they hadn't spoken much since Norah was dishonorably discharged from the force.

"What are you doing back in Morning Star? Did you get stuck with the lockdown? They did announce it pretty suddenly, huh?"

"I guess you could say that." Norah didn't want to divulge too many details, nor did she really want to have an involved conversation.

"Listen, I was just heading out to have dinner alone, but do you mind joining me? I could use the company, and we could catch up!"

"I don't know about that," Norah said as she smiled apologetically. "I don't want to take up your time."

"Oh, that's not the case! Come on, it'll be my treat!"

Norah sighed. She didn't want to make any more of a scene than she already was, and it looked like she wasn't going to be getting out of this any time soon. "All right. Just for a bit, then."

"Great!" Carol grinned from ear to ear. "Remember the old diner we used to go to after work? Come on, it's just down the street."

Norah followed Carol down to the diner in question, a somewhat seedy restaurant that seemed out of place in the upscale Morning Star district. Familiar faces working behind the counter gave Norah cursory greetings, stirring up memories of the past she wanted to forget. The two sat down at an empty booth and quickly made their orders.

The food soon arrived, and as Norah ate, she answered Carol's questions with vague one-word answers that didn't necessarily reveal too much about her current life. It wasn't entirely out of pragmatism that she did this; while it was obviously a bad idea to tell a police officer that she was a Night Hunter, she also found it hard to admit that she was still doing detective work after being fired from the force.

"You can't go wrong with the grilled paninis here," Carol remarked as she took a bite into one.

"Yep," Norah said with a hint of somber nostalgia. "Been a while since I've been here, but they're still as good as they've always been."

A pang of guilt flashed across Carol's face. "You know, Norah, no one ever believed that you did all those things they accused you of. I'm sorry I could never speak up for you."

"Not like you saying anything would have changed things," Norah said cynically.

"I'm serious, Norah! Not a day goes by that I don't feel bad that you're not here!"

"What are you even saying, Carol? If I didn't know better, I'd say it sounded like you were asking me to come back to the force."

Carol fell silent and fidgeted nervously. The change in demeanor was enough to catch Norah's suspicion.

"Are you serious?"

"Listen, Internal Investigations uncovered some indisputable evidence of corruption that the higher-ups just couldn't get rid of. The senior detective, the chief who covered it up, everyone involved in that controversy has been either forced to resign or reassigned. I won't say that all the problems here have gone away, but I don't think it'd be a problem if you wanted to come back!"

Norah sighed. "Is this why you wanted to speak to me? To get me to come back to Twilight PD?"

"No. I really did want to catch up with you. We were close, after all. But surely there's a part of you that still wants be a part of the force, right?"

A sense of irritation rose up within her. "Thank you for the meal, but I really must be going," Norah said spitefully as she stood up.

"Norah, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, Carol. It was nice to see you." Norah turned away and walked out of the door before Carol could stop her. She walked until the diner was out of sight, then stopped and looked up at the moon shining over the city.

She had known Carol for a long time. They started at Twilight PD at the same year, and they quickly grew inseparable during her time there. When Norah was framed and fired, she was the only one who called and offered support during that time. Norah knew that Carol was being genuine and wasn't trying to pity her.

That's why it bothered her so much that she would be asked back so easily like this. She had decided to put that chapter of her life behind her, yet it turned out that she wasn't able to do that at all. The moment Carol brought up the possibility of going back, Norah's heart wavered – and she had to leave before she was actually convinced to come back.

Norah clenched her fist in disappointment. Her resolve to live on her own strength – was that all it amounted to? Did she faithfully follow Ingrid Hayasaka's orders because it felt like she was a police officer again? Norah couldn't accept it, but she couldn't deny it either.

Norah slapped her cheeks lightly to clear her mind. It wasn't productive to be thinking about things like this. She needed to focus on finding Megumi. Thinking about what to do next could come after.