Partners × In × Crime

Black-Market Exhange

- - - YORKNEW CITY // SEPTEMBER 4TH - - -

As the sun begins to rise, painting the sky in a myriad of warm hues, Dusk and Zane find themselves standing outside an inconspicuous building labelled 'Vanguard Contracts', tucked away within Yorknew's seedy underbelly. The aging brick walls, marked with graffiti, reflect the neighborhood's infamous reputation.

Zane stands by the security door, his fingers flying over a small device as he works on hacking into the system. The soft whirring sound it makes is barely audible against the distant hum of city life waking up around them.

Dusk surveys her surroundings warily, her hand instinctively reaching for her bow behind her back. She can feel the weight of gazes from hidden watchers who lurk in shadowy corners and from behind drawn curtains.

"Almost done here," Zane murmurs, eyes narrowed as he watches the lines of code flicker on his device's screen. His fingers glide over the keys with practiced ease, a skill honed through countless similar situations in the past.

With a subtle beep, the door unlocks. Zane pockets his device and opens the door, gesturing casually towards the darkened interior, "After you," He offers to Dusk.

Dusk nods her thanks but doesn't lower her guard as she steps inside, bow held ready at her side. The building is eerily silent save for their echoing footsteps reverberating against the cold concrete walls.

Zane's gaze scans the room, taking in every detail. The place is a mess: papers strewn about, mismatched furniture and peeling wallpaper, hardly the type of office you'd expect for an organization supposedly offering high-risk contracts.

"Keep your guard up," He warns Dusk quietly as they make their way to the backroom. His hand rests lightly on the hilt of his Kris dagger; ready for any surprises that might spring upon them.

Dusk nods in response, carefully observing the room as she follows behind him. The unsettling silence seems to amplify every little sound, from their soft footsteps to the faint rustle of papers shifting under a draft.

"Start looking through the files," Zane instructs, his eyes never leaving the computer on a desk cluttered with paperwork. He moves towards it, carefully stepping over scattered cables and misplaced furniture.

"I'll see if I can find anything useful from their system," He adds as he sits down in front of the machine. The screen flickers to life at his touch, rows and columns filled with encrypted data appearing before him.

The archer follows his instructions, moving towards a set of dusty filing cabinets lining one wall. She carefully pulls open the first drawer, revealing stacks upon stacks of manila folders filled with paperwork.

"What am I looking for exactly?" She asks over her shoulder, her fingers hovering over the files hesitantly. She doesn't want to waste time going through irrelevant information. They're on borrowed time as it is.

"Anything that might lead us to the Phantom Mark user," Zane replies, his attention fixed on deciphering the computer's encrypted files, "Look for any contracts or jobs that seem out of place... Or personnel files with information about nen users."

His fingers dance across the keyboard as he runs a decryption program, hoping it'll crack open whatever secrets this system holds.

"Got it," Dusk responds, her gaze skimming over the files in front of her. She begins to sift through them methodically, scanning each document for anything that might hint towards the Phantom Mark user.

She can't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data they have to go through... But she knows they don't have any other choice.

Meanwhile, Zane's decryption program is making progress but not as quickly or easily as he would have preferred. Several files marked with an encrypted lock symbol remain stubbornly inaccessible, indicating a higher level of security.