Lonely Thieves

Act V, Part VI

Norah's Side (April 14, 10:45pm)

Norah panted and heaved as she tried her best to follow after Raven and Ingrid, who were also doing their best not to leave her in the dust. Despite their best efforts, Norah could barely keep them in sight. She knew that cybernetic enhancements could massively improve a person's physical ability, but she hadn't realized to what extent.

She tapped on the communicator plugged into her ear so that Raven could hear her speak. "Hey, wait a minute! Why aren't we heading back to the Florencia building?"

"I'll answer with another question, Miss Norah. What do you think is the most important thing for us to do right now?"

"Huh?" Norah couldn't even begin to understand what Raven was trying to get at. "What do you mean? Isn't it important to keep the building from being raided?"

"Sure, but that's only a short stopgap. What is the overall goal that all of us are trying to achieve?"

"...Getting all of the necklaces and retrieving the hidden will of Shigeru Hayasaka?"

"Exactly. And as it so happens, Chisato sent me something interesting." Raven chuckled. "A copy of the data key composited by the necklaces' data."

"Really?" Norah said, shocked. Kolya had been somewhat aware of the details surrounding the whole situation, but he didn't seem to have any idea how far along they actually were. To think Megumi actually managed to retrieve the third necklace... Norah realized just how determined the young thief was.

"The Florencia building is important, yes, but the whole point of this is to reveal Hayasaka's scandals to the world," Raven explained. "Besides, if Kolya's at the scene, he'll find some way to keep the situation from getting out of hand."

"But just how are we going to pull this off?" Ingrid asked, joining the call. "Just having the key isn't going to be enough, is it?"

"Of course not," Raven replied. "We need to get to Shigeru Hayasaka's will."

"And where is that?"

"Don't worry," Raven laughed. "I've spent years preparing for all this. You think I wouldn't have already obtained that sort of information years ago?"

"If so, I would've liked for you to tell me all this before you ran off," Norah griped.

"Sorry about that," Raven said with a chuckle. "I just thought it would be better not to waste time."

"So? Where are we going?"

"The Eclipse district," Raven answered. "Don't worry. We won't be running the whole way there."

Raven's assurance was reinforced by their arrival at a parking lot with several cars parked all about the area. Raven pressed a button on his belt, and one of the parked cars started up and drove up to the three of them.

"Come on in," Raven motioned as the doors opened. "We're going to take this the rest of the way."

"But what about the lockdown?" Norah asked worriedly. "They're still not letting anyone out of here, and it's because of you."

"No worries," Raven grinned. "After all, I've been planning for this for a long time."

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Raven's car drove along the highways of Twilight, heading straight for the Eclipse district. He whistled the melody of a classic rock song as he leisurely steered the car along the darkened roads of the highway.