Backbone II: Scourge

SLEUTH

CHAPTER III - SLEUTH

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Several hours had passed since Renee had departed the presence of Howard, of which she had spent the majority of that time preparing supplies to invade the Tops. It wasn't an easy job managing to fit in with high society, especially when you were overlooked as nothing more than a low-hanging fruit in the form of a fox in the middle-class spectrum. Everybody somewhat envied the position of their superiors, yet with the suspicious frequency of cats, dogs as well as lions recently breaching the inner circle of the apes; Renee and Howard began to wonder what their supposedly superior government was hiding from them.

Renee had disguised herself massively to look more like an elegant wolf as opposed to being the tricky fox which society saw her as, doing the best to smother herself with makeup alongside fur dye whilst deepening her voice and loosening her outfit to seem as masculine as possible. She also dropped her regular heeled boots and instead went with those which were steel-toed just in case she was destined for any violent altercations. On the contrary, things were not smooth sailing. It was raining outside and she hadn't brought an umbrella with her, so she would have to be mindful of the time she spent outside in her great pursuit of these individuals she was tailing.

As Renee silently pointed towards her destination; the parking lot of a tremendously massive mall in which she was destined to find Baxter Colby meeting inside of a store yet to be opened with the windows uncovered with him in full display. From what little intel she could get from the rather antisocial taxi driver, Baxter was a nervous entrepreneur who had recently opened up shop on the middle floor of the sprawling mall of magnificence which was situated near the border between their own territory and Granville.

She surrendered the majority of the loons she had borrowed kindly from Clarissa, who was strangely optimistic about her case. Now that she thought about it, Clarissa was technically playing herself, Howard alongside the apes themselves to get her way as well as bolster her influence but she was more concerned about reaching the nearby payphone and talking to Howard. Admittedly, she was a little lost out on the gigantic streets lining the mall as well as amidst the supercars as she found a payphone which was encrusted with gems as if it were normal as she inserted five loons and bought herself five minutes of talktime.

"At least this is relatively cheap," She quipped as she dialled up the number using the numpad alongside part of the terminal to verify the destination. "Hello? Yes, I would like to speak with Howard Lotor in Room 16C... Alright, thank you very much," Renee waited patiently as the phone buzzed for what seemed like an eternity as she was briefly put on hold. Thankfully, Howard wasn't far out of reach, taking his time to answer considering he had been sleeping peacefully and wasn't used to routinely taking calls from people who weren't clients or his mother.

"Howard Lotor speaking," Howard answered with his tired voice ringing down the other side of the line, now the roles were reversed and Renee was in charge of playing detective for a change.

"It's Renee. I'm at the Tops. Clarissa gave me the rundown. I'm looking for a guy known as Baxter Colby as well as will be getting dirt on her personal assistant, Lee Aleksi. I've been advised to stick to the mall so that's my first place of interest. Got any advice on how I do this without standing out? I've already got a disguised voice alongside dressed up like a grey wolf. Where do I go from here?" Renee was truly clueless as she made sure to keep her tone on the payphone as quiet as possible.

"Well, I get you credit for not looking like a detective, so you can't exactly say you're a private investigator. Use the truth to your advantage by stating that you're an investigative journalist gathering some data on the Tops for research reasons as those people love that. Don't meander with the wrong crowd, either. You should also get some pictures of the mall if possible alongside Baxter himself, not to mention Lee. Just be sure to turn off the camera. You should also try your best to look like an enthusiastic tourist, try and find yourself an annoying Toptown souvenir that you can carry with you. That's all the advice I can give other than carrying some common sense."

"I've got to spend more loons? Are you kidding me? Clarissa only handed over so much," Renee sighed.

"Trust me, being a P.I isn't exactly cheap, you pay for your own gigs. I wish you the best of luck and please try and keep me updated the best you can, I don't want you getting caught, Renee."

"I'll let you know if I find something conclusive. Rest easy, Howie," Renee's slight sentiment as she hung up the phone already alerted Howard to a mild degree considering Renee wasn't necessarily known for being sentimental unless she was nervous. However, he swallowed any of his doubts and had faith in his partner as she moved away from the payphone and eyed up the gigantic entrance that led into an even larger complex of shops paid for by good old fashioned monopolistic capitalism.

"Alright... Ahem... Renee, it's time to become Ronald, the neighbourhood journalist here to ask some questions whilst looking the part," Her voice transitioned from sounding extremely feminine as well as velvety to sounding a little more gruff as she experimented with her vocal chords, eventually finding perfection within a mix between being gruff yet also sounding youthful. "Now, let us enter the belly of this grand dragon!" She took her first picture of the mall with the flash off all the while walking forward, trying out her manly voice to the best of her ability as she inevitably encountered her first obstacle... The security guard.

As the rain poured around her whilst her fur was admittedly already soaked by the storm passing by overhead, she was sure to stick to as much cover as possible to ensure that her relatively expensive yet temporary fur dye wouldn't smear nor wash off. Eventually, she made her way to a small line of aristocrats attempting to enter the building, of which they gained her attention due to their extravagant suits. They were also grouped together, indicating that they were heading to some form of meeting point.

At the head of the pack was none other than Sir Lionsworth himself, one of the only surviving princes from the old dynasty presumably sent to oversee the arrangements relating to opening up the newest store on the block. Behind him, he was followed by two bears who were presumably his bodyguards alongside a pack of three dogs of varying breeds alongside one wolf to presumably keep lookout. Whilst these group of aristocrats and members of high society were allowed passageway with ease, Renee found herself troubled by the guard directly at the front of the establishment.

"You look lost here. I.D, sir," Renee reluctantly reached into her pocket of her jade-coloured suit, pulling out a rather convincing yet fake I.D that the snow leopard guard ogled for several seconds before handing it back to her. "You may pass, Ronald Wilson, investigative journalist... Just don't go following around the wrong crowd of people and end up documenting your demise," The guard reluctantly allowed Renee passageway, suspecting her to be up to some shady business regardless thanks to the camera around her neck yet he wasn't there to ask any unwanted questions considering he'd been on the job long enough at that point.

"Assholes," She remarked under her breath, her eyes fixated on the sprawling metropolis within which made up the grandest mall the Tops had to offer. Not to be captivated by the sights of streams of the wealthy purchasing fashionable garments, eating the most expensive fast food money could buy alongside witnessing high society getting its hands on the latest tech for a mark-up before the rest of Vancouver had a chance of even seeing those items, she instead sought to follow the massive group of aristocrats taking the escalator down two floors to the lower-central floor, which was presumably her destination.

As if fortune was destined to slam its brakes on her before she even got started with anything, it only took the appetite of one hungry puppy that she was tracking from the floor above to lure them away from her eyesight a minute after she had started tracking them down. With her mind further embroiled within the rather enchanting yet shamelessly corporate and snobby marble floors as well as walls made out of quartz, she took her risks and decided to leap onto the escalator which was bound for the same floor as the aforementioned aristocrats were harboured on.

"All it takes is a hungry pup for your house of cards to fall down... I'm keeping my eye on you, Baxter. At least I know where his suspected meeting party has headed off to. How typical that they eat at Sheldon's Seafood Diner; I wonder if they have flesh on that menu, Clarissa-"

"Did someone say Clarissa?" A Siberian husky turned around and heightened up his glasses whilst folding up his newspaper, turning his head towards "Ronald" as Renee cleared her throat and prepared to speak to him.

"I was! Rumour has it that she's given permission for Baxter Colby to open up Baxter's Bakery and apparently they're going to be signing the official deed to open up the place within the next week! May I ask you a few questions?" Renee spoke up, using her disguise to her full advantage as she portrayed the slightly short yet still impressively sized grey wolf that she was pretending to be.

"Baxter Colby? The same guy who hates going outside? He's opening a bakery? I mean, I'm proud of the guy, used to message him on social media a while back but questions, you say? You look like a journalist and someone who isn't from these parts, what'dya need to know? - I'm Karl, by the way," Karl introduced himself politely, shaking hands with Renee as they stepped off the escalator and hunted for a nearby bench to sit down together.

"Ronald Wilson, investigative and informative journalist," Renee lied through her teeth, sitting down against the polished alongside varnished spruce wood that lined a gold-plated bench dedicated to Shepherd himself. "You'd be right about not being from this area. I've been living near Science City for a while now. I haven't exactly had time to report on the opening of the mall considering there are always rumours to chase inside of Granville and that's where the big bucks hide for a journalist such as myself. I guess my first question is a simple one... Who is Baxter Colby in your eyes?" Renee's first flaw was folding up her legs, crossing them like she usually would out of force of habit as she quickly uncrossed them and pulled out her notepad nonchalantly.

"Dude's always been a little nervous, I met him on some daytrading forums one could find on the terminal a while ago, he's an entrepreneur of this thing they call Nexum, which is basically something that connects terminals across the entirety of Vancouver with one another. I bought into it myself because it's somewhat fancy but apparently he's a software engineer with a taste for some sweet treats; I also heard he makes technology themed cookies, which is sort of the main thing that got the attention of the aristocrats that are supposedly visiting him today, they've got a long journey ahead of them though as his shop's right at the end of this gigantic mall," Karl had an extremely posh accent yet intertwined it with some street lingo, almost as if he had familiarised himself with the very people that he would one day end up forgetting about.

"Anything you know about the aristocrats that are visiting? Any big names? I wish to interview them later down the line but I have no clue who they are or how to find them," Renee was instantly held up by a raised eyebrow from Karl followed by him shaking his head.

"The aristocrats? Are you insane? That's not a good idea. It would probably be best to leave them alone, they don't like talking about business with journalists or anyone. They're probably here to have a meeting, sign some deed and then take off to their ivory towers."

"Are you saying you don't like the aristocrats and their attitudes?" Renee asked rather politely, ensuring that her accent was gruff enough so it could be bought.

"It's a mixed bag for me. I've had my run-ins with them before. I run a glasses shop as some of these people don't have the best eyesight in the world, myself included! They didn't seem too happy that I was holding a valuable space just to sell glasses but when they saw my quarterly profits... My-my, they learned a lot and asked me for a bunch of my data! I assume they found something useful for the great apes and our leaders if they were looking at my customer list and how many there were! How lucky I am!" Karl let off a chipper laugh, thoroughly creeping out Renee as her anxiety started to hammer away at her mind.

"Excuse me for being a snoop and I promise to keep this off the books but... I can't help but wonder why on earth they would snoop through your private information like that. Are there any motives as to why they did such a thing?"

"Oh, apparently for some research and to see if I'm entitled to an upgrade! Looks like I am and I am putting Ross and his bookstore out of business... We've got too many of those, anyway, stick to traditional literature instead of trying to sell your philosophy, Ross! - Anyways, have you got any more questions? I'm pretty sure my wife is itching for me to get back home and I should wrap up my time here before it gets too late, at least for my standards," Karl allured to his personal life as well as shifted into being in this eager state, ansty and anticipating a way out of this interview he had found himself engaging within.

"So, they're looking for some form of statistics, okay..." Renee quietly noted down inside of her notepad before turning her priorities back towards interrogation. "Have you got any insight on Baxter Colby's business? How profitable it might be for example? - Oh, on top of that; I wonder if you've seen this guy around recently. I need to ask him a couple of questions for an interview but he no-showed, I'm wondering if you saw him nearby," Renee whipped out a photo of Lee Aleksi, Clarissa's right-hand man who was supposedly meant to be somewhere inside of the mall yet Clarissa was vague with her details.

"I think Baxter's business has some potential... Eh, it might not be the most profitable thing in the world but the guy's following his passion and I bet the hipsters are gonna love what he's got in store for them!" Karl eyed up his watch before peering at Renee's photo. "Oh, I know that guy! He works at Beaver's Bicycles as a stock manager! Kinda funny how he no-showed a review, I heard he's nothing special other than having some rumoured association with the Bloodworth family. He was creeping around the backside of the mall and apparently owns his own apartment in the attic which he used to crash in... I don't know if he lives there anymore, though; I'm not a professional stalker. I'm sure you'll find him if you stop by. It's on the top floor on the west side if you're looking for a location."

"Alright, thank you ever so much for your time and your insight. I hope you have a wonderful day, friend!" Renee departed Karl whilst disguised as Ronald, rushing down her notes as well as the name of the Siberian husky that had bestowed some insight upon the local area as well as the mall upon her. Not too long after that, she eyed up a small phone-booth near the outskirts of Sheldon's Seafood Diner, which was destined to be her next rendezvous point as she sought to speak to Howard about the case she was building and to gain some more insight on what information she was gathering and why it was important.

As she punched in the hospital number a second time within the span of an hour, fully satisfied with her results, she confidently followed the same procedure as before when calling Howard. Yet, this time, instead of being greeted by a rather tired Howard, she was instead greeted by an enthusiastic Larry who answered the phone with a welcoming attitude.

"Larry's authentic mixtapes, may I take your order?" Yet, Larry was interrupted by a distant voice in the form of Howard who was pleading for him to hand over the phone as it was probably Renee. "Renee? Can't you get enough of that woman? You've been awake for like, twenty minutes now and I'm beating you at Undeux, get a grip!" Larry mocked all the while Renee patiently waited on the other side of the line.

"Give me that, you conniving jokester! You're lucky I'm tired and going easy on you!" Howard remarked as his voice came through the line and he composed himself with a mere cough. "Apologies about that, if you can't tell, Larry's paid me a visit. I assume you found something important?" At that moment, Larry instantly felt bad for joking around considering the obvious at hand.

"It was entertaining and reassuring knowing that you've got company other than myself, hopefully Larry is treating you well. Anyways, I have successfully made it inside the belly of the dragon and I'm currently scouting my environment. I was intercepted by a man known as Karl who had some insight to give. I played the role of an investigative and informative journalist with grace and I am quite proud of myself," Renee recalled with a wide smile on her face. For a moment, she felt as feverish and delirious as she had imagined Howard when he was taking on the cannibalism case.

"Glad to see that you're having fun filling my shoes. I trust that you found something useful by using your social engineering skills?" Howard's tone spoke with pride, his eyes shimmering in front of Larry considering he was unbelievably proud of his protege for handling herself for the first time on her real investigative dive into the world of being a private investigator.

"Mhm, I found out two things. That the aristocrats that I've been following do not like being asked questions and that Lee Aleksi, Clarissa's right hand man, likes to hide out at Beaver's Bicycles as he apparently works as the stock manager there. I already know the drill. This group of aristocrats went to eat at a place known as Sheldon's Seafood Diner, so I think they're going to be off the grid for the while or at the very least, there's no point spying on them for now other than getting a passing shot of them enjoying their meals... Should I pursue the lead on Aleksi in the meantime or should I focus on the main goal? - Oh, I also found out that the establishment Baxter is opening up is going to be themed around cookies that are baked into the shapes of technology. I'm actually sort of interested in it but that's for later, if you were curious," Renee had quite the information dump on offer for Howard to digest as Larry finally settled down as opposed to playing around with the golf ball he had brought with him for their games of minigolf.

"Looks like Baxter opening up a Bakery is a window of opportunity to sneak in as a stockholder at a later date. I want to see if he's going to be selling more than just cookies. If he's going to be selling technology then he's most likely in cahoots with the Technological Research Agency. There's always some ulterior motive with those guys. As for now, I would like for you to pursue the potential lead on Aleksi, do some sleuthing and sneak around if you must. Don't worry about the aristocrats right now, you might be able to find one and interrogate them when they split away at the end of the day provided that they're happy with what they've seen," Howard advised whilst holding a deck of cards in his hands as he held the phone to his healing shoulder.

"The aristocrats look like they're here for a lot more than just a bakery opening. They've got three bodyguards with them, they're usually insecure but it looks like they're going to be investigating something or checking out something highly secretive... I don't know, Howard. I've got a hunch about both leads but if you insist on snooping on Aleksi then I guess that's my next objective."

"You've got a tracking device with you, right? Try and slip past the aristocrats and plant a tracking device inside of one of their bags if they're carrying any. These fuckers haul their backpacks full of riches with them like they're nothing. If you can sneak a keychain into the slot where one would put a water bottle, it'll probably go unnoticed."

"That's actually a good idea... Actually, one of them happens to be heading to a public laventry right at this very second and I could do with a bathroom break myself. This is my chance. Thank you for the insight, Howard. Tell Larry to heat up my seat, I'll be back sooner than you know it! Goodbye!"

"You've been doing some great detective work so far, Renee! I'll hopefully see you when you've completed your objectives for today! Good luck!" With a singular beep, the pair of them separated from their brief connection with one another and went back to their respective realities. Whilst Howard was getting owned in a card game, Renee was busy tossing a small coin in the form of a tracking device into the backpack of someone using the public toilets before going to do so herself.

"Hey, what were you two talking about anyways? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Larry bargained with Howard's senses by scratching his head all the while Howard laid down one of his numbered cards onto his bedside desk, more focused on his card game with Larry instead of his inquiry. "Howard?"

"Oh, that? Just some confidential case work. Besides, do you really think evil is going to take a break just because I outlived some strange sci-fi shit and ended up in a coma for a while? Hell no! I've got faith in Renee that she can fill my shoes to a degree whilst making sure she doesn't get caught. I know I should be resting but dude, what am I going to realistically do? Daydream or sleep whilst you're around?" He responded with a trail of enthusiasm following his words as Larry played down another card before Howard responded with a card which added four more to Larry's deck. "Gotcha!"

"I don't know, Howard. Is it really wise for you to be working on a case again when your so-called important and big case got you inside of a tent with some tumour on your back? I struggle to remember some details of how you got there but I don't think I am going to forget that growth nor the personality it carried with it for some time, especially with that thousand yard stare of yours that puts most horror movies to shame. I hope you know what you're doing and are actually taking some time to rest whilst I'm not around," Oh, Larry, how caring he was for Howard considering they had been bunk-buddies in university and their friendship hadn't exactly soured despite the distance.

"Does it look like I'm doing anything meaningful other than offering my thoughts? Renee's doing all of the heavy lifting for me, anyways, so what's there to worry about?"

"The fact that she bargained with Clarissa to track you down in time for you to not turn into a carcass thanks to that thing? - Don't you think she's working with Clarissa because it benefits her, too? I mean, the both of you from what I know always used to be somewhat independent before meeting one another, what exactly got that to change?"

"Circumstances, Larry! She lent a helping hand when literally no one else could nor would. I had hit rock bottom to the point where it sent me on this forsaken path to end up in this hospital room all whilst pursuing a mystery. I get it, working with Clarissa is unfavourable considering she's a butcher but if it weren't for her; I would be dead, Renee would be mourning me, you would be and so would my mother... She means a lot to me, Larry, I can tell that she's not here to betray me anytime soon. If she truly wanted to betray me, she wouldn't constantly reach out to me, nor would she have considered working with Clarissa in the name of finding me to begin with," He responded with facts and the truth in a calming manner, managing to get the advantage over Larry as he slammed down his final card and cheered proudly. "Bam! Suck it!"

"If you say you trust Renee then I trust her too, I'm not going to start an argument just because we disagree on something, we're not bunk buddies in university anymore. Anyways, you got lucky with this game but I promise you're not going to survive a round three!" Larry grabbed hold of the Undeux deck and started shuffling it around, beginning the seemingly never ending cycle of the pair of them playing against one another in an attempt to get an edge over the other all the while Renee continued her search to uncover the truth; or at least something relatively nefarious that could be pinned on one or multiple individuals or to connect the dots between the lack of investments, missing money as well as anyone who supposedly could be promoting such preposterous conditions.

"Alright, I am most likely going to get nowhere with the aristocrats for now, they're a dead-end lead and I have a feeling I know where I should head up to next. I heard Beaver's Bicycles is on the top floor of this place, I should most likely pursue that lead considering they may be some vast store of information," Renee softly whispered to herself as she left the gigantic atrium leading away from the bathrooms in which she had slipped a tracking device into one of their backpacks. "Now, I wonder how on earth I can get to the top floor and loiter around long enough to get in there- WHOA-" Renee's feminine voice shifted into the masculine voice she had perfected as she bumped into a badger carrying a briefcase filled with watches.

"Hey there, friendo! You look a little lost without your sense of time! Can I interest you in a watch crafted from pure sapphire? I promise you it'll be worth your while! With inflation on the rise, you might as well invest in material wealth that retains its value regardless of our state economically!~" Renee was unsure of this badger's name but she sensed that something shifty was going on, tilting her head as she remained disguised as a wolf yet as cunning as the fox that she was.

"Isn't that just called a material investment? Apologies, young man, I've got enough of those watches back at home. However... I am a little curious as to how you think inflation is going to impact everybody... - Is business doing well?"

"Ugh, journalism, not my favourite hobby to respect. I think inflation is a problem but that's why I want to churn out as many profits as possible. I don't know if you've heard but there's quite a huge Monkeybutt problem running rampant around the Tops. Most of these people are high up to their eyeballs on the stuff and are willing to buy into this shit... WATCHES! GET YOUR WATCHES!" The badger rudely went back to advertising his services all whilst bluntly answering Renee.

"If that's the case and you're so sophisticated then where does the money you make go? What sort of investments are you making?" With a peer up towards the glass dome covering the massive walkway which hung above the lip of the floor above alongside the gold-plated railing she was leaning against, she could tell that the weather above was turning into a violent storm and that darkness was beginning to fall upon her operation.

"Heyo, what's it to you? Investments are investments. I don't appreciate having my business disturbed... Now get the fuck off my corner before I make you leave!" This unidentified badger shoved Renee out of the way as she scoffed at the sight of his royal blue suit. Yet, instead of being concerned about her pride being insulted, she was more intrigued by the fact that Monkeybutt had seemingly become a routine problem that the locals were subtly addressing.

However, despite how massive and prominent the itch to call Howard may have been at that moment, she found herself instead wandering towards the grand escalators up to the top floor in which Beaver's Bicycles was housed. She may have despised the upper class and how corporate everything appealed but there were some stores that caught her attention; especially those alluring to food as she wasn't the only one who had a guilty pleasure for eating out of the partnership she had with Howard.

Rather hastily, none other than Renee herself found herself lost in a zone of the mall known as The Oriental, which was filled with bamboo shoots that reached up towards the horizons alongside a variety of cuisine cultivated by various cultures. For once, she actually felt welcome in this region of the mall regardless of everything whilst it appeared to be the busiest place of the establishment. She felt as if there was a beehive within her brain as she slickly squeezed through the crowds, attempting to loosen herself up from the glow of neon signs alongside traditional folk music and for her to get back on track as opposed to being blinded by such beautiful sights.

Not too long after she had lost her attention to The Oriental, Renee caught herself attempting to follow the steamy trail of some savoury noodle shop as she walked her way towards the west end of this gigantic mall. It truly amazed her that people had the money to pay for such flashy chandeliers, not to mention gigantic neon signs accompanied by benches encrusted with gold and plated with diamonds. Every single part of the mall felt as if it wasn't made to be a mall but that every place was some sort of investment that the ministers of high society got themselves intertwined with.

As she advanced forward through the labyrinth of bridges and businesses, she found herself nearing a quieter part of the mall, especially when it came to the subtle jazz music which lulled her heart and reminded her of Howard; especially the cassettes that he was carrying with him and that she seized in order to listen to them whilst he was in his hospital bed experiencing the side effects of a coma. If anything, everything began to remind her of Howard once again, had she really fallen that hard in love with a man after having a half-assed marriage with a fox who only wished to creep on her alongside use her for his personal needs?

It was almost as if Howard's previously abrasive attitude before opening up to her as a more transparent partner served as some form of beacon, a beacon of trust as well as hope. Renee had always found herself struggling to be believed, to be trusted and understood in a world where one person would see her and instantly assume the worst... That she was untrustworthy, that she was tricky, that she had no loyalty or no faith to anything that mattered.

Adding further insult to injury was the fact that there was a love song playing in the background through the vast sprawl of speakers which could make up a city of their own if stacked appropriately. The lyrics of "She's sleuthing around, searching for clues, trying to see if she's fallen for a ruse; her man may be dreamy, he may not be perfect but in her mind, there's no other prospect. Hopelessly in love, hoping that she'll fit like a glove; would she be falling for a gentleman or a criminal..? WHO KNOWS!" rang throughout her mind accompanied by some soothing jazz music as those aforementioned thoughts were now gifted a swimming pool to use to further bolster the tornado swirling inside of her head.

She mindlessly wondered forward, daydreaming about Howard alongside the connection she had formed with him ever since meeting him. The one thing that captivated her about Howard beyond the obvious traits he possessed was the fact that he didn't need to open up to her, nor did he need to trust her. She knew that above all else, Howard was independent and able to deal with things quite like she was. For the first time in her life, as she wandered towards Beaver's Bicycles, she found herself questioning if work was everything.

If we add in the fact that her ego-tripping boss had recently cut all ties with her after attempting to use her for his own purpose, yet another example of her slightly naive nature when it comes to people trusting her. Renee found herself pondering her purpose and the work which came before Howard. Instead of seeing it as part of her passion, she looked into it with enlightenment and foresight, almost as if it was destined to be and was building up to this exact morning.

In stark contrast, her slight internal pondering mixed with her world becoming a blur filled with blushing and her feeling surprisingly warm for someone who had frozen their heart for so long would come to an end when she accidentally bumped into Lee Aleksi himself, hanging outside of Beaver's Bicycles whilst he was having a smoke break. Almost immediately, Lee stomped out his cigarette and attempted to take a swing at Renee, who dodged to the side and shoved him back.

"Chill out, asshole! I just bumped into you! Am I not allowed to take my business here in peace? I'm not the best at keeping myself on both feet," Renee retorted as Lee dropped his fists to the floor upon fixating his gaze upon the grey wolf standing before him. "Ah, where are my manners, Lee. I should've been watching where I was walking. Ronald Wilson, investigative journalist. Heard you're the guy for a bicycle that rides like a dream?" Renee uncomfortably locked eyes with the orange-eyed tiger standing before her as he cracked his knuckles, merely placing his shoulder around her back and leading her into the store.

"You've got five minutes to look around, grab some gear, grab a bike and pay the cashier. We're destined to close soon as we're bringing in a shipment of goods around back, then I want you gone. Our bikes speak for themselves but I can't speak for you as to whether or not you can make up your mind as quickly as one of these rides will carry you across the streets of the high life. You said you're a journalist, right? Whatever business you have with interviewing someone, I can guarantee that the Mountaineer 36D will take you there with ease... If you need something a little more off-road, may I recommend the Hillside 3000?" Lee was certainly a seller for sure, looking to try and take Renee's loons for himself before closing up shop.

"Heard there are some newer models. The Mountaineer 40C is what I'm looking for and it sounds like that shipment may include it. May I take a look at the stock once you're finished packing it or would it be best to come back tomorrow?" She inquired with sincerity as Lee nodded towards Bryce Beaver himself, the owner of the establishment as he tossed over the key to the establishment to Lee before heading to the back.

"Unfortunately, the nature and contents of our stock remains confidential. However, I can take your name and put you down for a quote for the next forty-eight hours if we find out that it's in stock. Now, I hate to be rude but you need to leave. Now," Lee went from showing "Ronald" around the shop to attempting to get rid of "him" as much as possible. Renee didn't even have time to react with words as she found herself kicked out of the store and the glass doors were bolted shut behind her.

"You've got something to hide... It would be a shame if someone climbed the vines lining the walls to your establishment when nobody is around to sneak in through your closed window at the top. Oh, Renee, you're truly in over your head but that's always been your thing, hasn't it? Being ambitious and wishing for it to garner some form of success. Alright, let's do this!" Renee scaled the vines leading up the side of Beaver's Bicycles considering it was themed around a mix between truly exquisite wood blended with none other than natural jungle vines as she mounted the wall one step at a time. "Okay. okay... No one can see me. Renee, all you've gotta do is make the jump to the windowsill... Three, two, one - GO!" With one graceful leap, she successfully found her way inside of the establishment, tripping over the windowsill but finding none other than Lee's personal quarters with his unmade bed shining before her underneath the artificial lantern directly behind her... She's lucky that her thump coincided with the warehouse doors near the back of the establishment opening up.

Before her sat nothing more than a treasure trove of opportunity ripe for exploitation. To her right was a varnished desk made out of the finest oak, to her left was a sprawling double bed accompanied by a nest of paperwork contained beneath a glass of half-empty gin. Not only that, she was greeted by a vast library of knowledge whilst uphold by a gigantic shrine to Shepherd himself. Not wishing to be outdone, a simple twist of a knob outside of a fireplace revealed a massive compartment filled with sensitive documents.

"Alright, Renee, you've used a printer and a copier before... It's time for you to achieve the impossible in a ridiculously short amount of time," Renee soon loaded up the copier with all of the sensitive information she could dig out of the compartment, seeking to copy it and replace the fakes with the copies in the hopes that they wouldn't be detected. "I'm fortunate that the higher class chooses to pay for these expensive commodities," She remarked as she activated the copier, seeking to search through the desk bordering the window as the copier ran its operations whilst she stole the paperwork seemingly being used as a coaster for a glass filled with sin.

"I doubt he'll notice if I decide to grab some paper from the desk which is genuinely unimportant and swap its place. Okay, okay. I know I'm getting really lucky right now but I can understand why Howard loves this job... This guy even has his own board- he seems to be a double agent but he's also working with shadow organisations? I wish I could continue going over all of this material but it needs to go into the copier," Renee also clamped shut her lips at that point, not wishing to make too much noise as a gigantic amount of noise boomed throughout the establishment thanks to the built in warehouse that was presumably being served from the outer ring of the mall which was strictly off limits to everything except commercial vehicles.

Renee also stumbled across various cultist books that were lining the lower shelves of the bookshelves before her. They were seemingly collecting dust and with the copier tearing through the workload she had assigned to it, she found herself rushing for as much as she could that could be shuffled around whilst remaining fairly unnoticeable to the common eye as she analysed the paperwork she had stolen from underneath the gin glass. Not too long after, she found a massive lump sum which had been merely titled as "Hush" from the financial minister himself, verifying the fact that Aleksi, as an informant, was being deliberately quiet about the inflation crisis to protect the apes from being caught out.

Furthermore, it seems as if the apes had been aware of his partnership with Clarissa for a long time as indicated by several sticky notes which indicated that Clarissa was being played and that he was fostering several extremely expensive jewel stones in a place known as Bunker A. Lee wasn't only playing the apes, he was playing Clarissa alongside playing the common folk. It seemed as if Clarissa's seemingly unassuming assistant had some ambitions of his own brooding as Renee listened out for the ding which came from the copier once it had finished making duplicates of the sensitive documents she was eager to stuff into her briefcase.

"Alright, alright, these appear to be convincing enough. Now, I just need to put the fakes where I found them before and conclude my operation before I get caught. I've been loud enough... I do want to know what's going on in the back, though. No, Renee, stay focused," Renee spoke to herself as she rummaged around the hidden compartment, stuffing the documents back in place as her ears were tickled by the sound of one word... "Monkeybutt". - "Monkeybutt? I wonder if this is the reason as to why Lee was so secretive about the operation. I should most likely cover my tracks first before trying to sneak my way into the warehouse, if that's even possible. I guess I won't know until I find out," Renee was admittedly enjoying herself a little bit as she finished hiding her act by zipping around the room, even being cautious enough not to disturb the duvets lining Aleksi's bed as she silently cracked open the golden doorknob which led into an eerily silent alongside empty corridor filled with stained grey floors alongside washed-out jade walls.

Renee thought how insane she was at that moment to be sniffing around for clues like Howard used to do, especially based on his own experiences and her calling them irrational. The more she got into the mindset of being a detective whilst nurturing her first-hand experience, the more she understood Howard's rather impromptu attitude... Nothing was expected to go to plan when you're a P.I and so it's best to wing it instead of attempting to go in with some semblance of a plan as demonstrated by the fact she was loitering outside of a locked door eavesdropping on the conversation happening within.

"As expected, boss has loaded up the compartments of the motorcycles with bricks of the stuff. We'll be cutting until close. I can't believe this place stays underneath the radar, just because we use bikes to push this stuff instead of more subtle methods? I mean, nobody is going to suspect new vehicles ready to be sold going through some unnamed warehouse for inspection to be filled with the stuff, are they? Man, this society is filled with idiots. I can't wait to save enough money to get beyond the wall, heard it's a paradise free from the capitalistic shithole practices that we've got to abide to; all in the name of Shepherd or whatever," Renee pressed the button on her recording device whilst holding it up to the crack in the door just before she overheard their conversation, practically whispering "Bingo" into her microphone as she continued to eavesdrop.

"The only reason why I am going to praise Shepherd is because that asshole led us to where we are today. Scratching, clawing, coping. I'll be glad when I can abandon Bloodworth and head south. These crime families and these apes, they know nothing about the fact that they're an asylum like many others scattered around this mindlessly hypnotised world. The only reason why I work for snobs like her is because I need the funds for the good life, and by that I need a shit ton of diamonds as well as stuff that will sustain me for the rest of my time on this lousy planet," Lee himself personally remarked, with his previous higher-pitched Valetown accent alongside the shortened dialect showing through his intentions and grammar as he stood next to the door Renee was sat behind. "Anyways, I should probably get back to my room and make sure the stock is noted down, take care of everything else for me, will you?" Not wishing to be caught with her ears against the metallic door, Renee turned back towards where she had come from and hastily made her way towards the door guarding Lee's room, shutting it behind her as she stuffed her briefcase full of the documents that she had grouped up neatly, slamming it shut before leaping out of the window without regard for her surroundings.

She took a grand tumble out onto the path outside of the mall, thankfully remaining unsighted. Yet, another issue soon confronted her when she checked out her fur in a nearby reflective surface and realised that her cheaply-made dye was beginning to fade and her true species alongside gender was being revealed one minute at a time. Not wishing to be caught without her disguise, she found herself exiting the mall into the rainy streets via a rather shady looking backdoor, inevitably beginning her rush to get back to Howard's hospital room without being caught by authorities or Lee himself.

...