Poison City [PAUSED]

Chapter 11

Aiko left job early, right after Mrs. Hayashi arrived at the station. She knew she had to work quickly and secretively. If anyone suspected that Fumiko was involved in the library case, she would definitely be taken off of the research team, and that absolutely couldn't happen. They needed her there.

As Aiko approached the building in a dark ally, which had a small dirty pub in the basement, she looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. It was dangerous enough that she had to send a note out during her lunch break, but now, she had to sneak out herself, and that was dangerous, especially for someone in the CSC. When she saw no one, she entered the pub.

Stink of smoke and alcohol hit Aiko as soon as she opened the doors. Despite smoking being prohibited in any other public area, shady places like this still allowed smoking. The room had dimmed lights, and there were already some people down there completely drunk and passed out on the chairs. She came to the bar, made of dark brown wood with red sheen, same as all of the tables and chairs. The man in his forties, who was standing behind the bar, gave her a weak smile.

"Aiko! Hi! I hope something good brings you here, though I doubt that's the case."

Aiko shrugged, "You know how it is, Xenon, people don't come to pubs like this in daylight unless something is going on."

Xenon now had a serious face, knowing too well the beginning of the code, "What is your poison today?"

Aiko swallowed hard, "I really need something that will make me see the grace of the moon when it comes up tonight."

Xenon nodded, understanding the message, "I have just the thing for you," he poured her a glass of scotch he knew was her go to drink, "I promise you, you will find what you need in no time." After that, he went through the doors behind him.

Aiko was sitting for about ten minutes drinking her glass of scotch, when Xenon came back in.

"The moon is out, maybe you would like to go out through the back and look at it."

Aiko nodded, and came to the doors that were on the other side of the bar, but on the same wall as the ones Xenon just came from. It was a small bathroom with two stalls, she entered the second one, which had doors that looked like they weren't in use anymore on one wall. Aiko pushed them hard and stepped outside slowly. The cool breeze hit her, and she was thankful the air was smoke free.

"What is it Aiko?" Came a calm voice from the shadows.

"Mitsuki, we have a problem. It's about the library." Aiko said while looking at the shadows, trying to find exactly where her friend stood.

"Do they suspect I did it?" Her voice was still calm.

"They don't, but one of their prime suspects is Fumiko."

The shadow stayed quiet for a moment, then Mitsuki stepped out on the light, with her hood making the shadow over her mask, which she always wore when dealing with this sort of business.

"Why in the world is she the prime suspect? And how didn't you find that out earlier?" Her voce came out harsh.

"The case was secured until today, because Daido didn't want anyone to know that his daughters sneaked in the archive without permission the same day, and left the library just moments before the alarm was set off." Aiko's voice was shaking a bit. She didn't want either of the Hayashi sisters to get in trouble.

"What do you think the outcome will be for the two of them?" Aiko could hear that Mitsuki was trying to keep her voice as calm as she could.

"I really don't know, but it is definite that if they find out about this at the research centre, she won't be permitted there anymore."