Sous-chef Gin, coming soon

"Your order, sir."

Brewed coffee, crispy bacon, sunny-side up eggs, fresh toast. The strong, aromatic scent of a morning breakfast fills Dahlia's with an unusually homely atmosphere. The light shining through the windows shower warm rays on the many customers occupying the tables.

"Thanks."

Detective Kudo takes the coffee without so much as glancing in my direction while Detective Herge takes the plate of food while giving me a quick nod and smile.

"I'm tellin' ya Kudo, the gangsters have somethin' to do with this."

Detective Kudo sips from his cup, unfazed by the heat of his drink. I take my leave from their somewhat secluded spot and continue waiting other tables.

Connecting to Device AELG324755...

Herge's plush, round face comes into view. He's already eaten a third of his plate. Detective Kudo isn't using his rLens' display at the moment so I don't see any UI elements. I turn off the camera connection regardless to avoid being too distracted from work.

"Even if we assume that the gangsters have something to do with the missing weapons, we still don't know how they did it. More importantly, we have to find out where it is now and retrieve it before any of it gets used or distributed."

"What about street cameras? And those drones buzzing all over the place."

"I'm having some of our guys go over the footage but so far no luck. Checked the footage around District 17 myself and... nothing. I don't think it's connected to the gangsters Herge, could be something else entirely. I mean District 33 is pretty far from 17 and it hasn't had any serious gang activity in or near it."

"Damn. Nothin' at all in the past five days? Here I thought I was onto somethin'."

"Nah..... Well... Hmm..."

"I can hear the gears turnin' in that head of yours, Kudo."

"Remember that flash storm four days ago?"

"Yeah, yeah, we were drinking a few hours before it hit, right?"

"..."

"...No, that's crazy. You think they transported the goods during a flash storm?"

"Street drones can't fly around during flash storms and street cameras are limited by their placement and the reduced visibility due to the storm. If they do it during a flash storm, they won't be caught on camera... Assuming they planned it all right."

"Then how do we track them?"

"Even if we don't catch them in the act... I don't think they would have made the whole trip from 33 to 17 during the storm. Flash storms can last from half an hour to a whole week... They could have transported it halfway through... Stored it somewhere..."

"And then did the rest of the trip during the storm. That's still crazy."

"Hey, you're the one insisting they had something to do with it."

"Yeah, I know but..."

While clearing out one of the recently vacated tables, I decide to give the detective a bit of extra information.

"Storm gear. Old ones. Scratched up and plain metallic."

"!?"

"Kudo? You alright?"

As usual, I make sure the voice constructed on the Detective's earpiece is distinctly different from my own.

"A plain gray delivery van was involved. Around District 16, during the flash storm. Also individuals using newer storm gear colored white and yellow."

"Hey, Arc, been a while."

"..."

"How long have you been listening in on us?"

"..."

"...Hello? ...Arc? ...Fuck."

"Everything good, Kudo?"

"Yeah, well... You might be right about the stolen goods and the gangsters. But the only ones with access to storm gear..."

"You know Kudo, this contact of yours is starting to worry me."

"Just, finish your food so we can go, okay?"

Disconnecting from Device AELG324755...

"Here."

The kitchen, is fairly small and simple but kept very clean. White tiles are lit by the ceiling lights while pots and pans are hung neatly in place. Reggie is by the stove, preparing another batch of orders and Gin is washing a few dishes by the sink in front of me.

"Thanks, just leave it there."

I put down the dirty dishes I just collected next to the sink and begin to turn away.

"Oh, Noa? I've already sent a message to Dahlia but just in case, can you remind her I won't be here tonight?"

"Sure. Another date with Milli?"

"It's a Saturday night and she wanted to take me to a few spots in District 18."

That means another video for me. I suppose it's not so bad, considering it's Sunday tomorrow.

"I see. I'll be sure to remind Dahlia. Good luck on your date."

"Gin! Come here for a moment."

Reggie calls out without taking his eyes off the pan in his hand. Gin wipes his hands dry with a nearby towel and starts walking towards Reggie excitedly.

"Sous-chef Gin, coming soon. Later Noa!"

At least some things are working out fine.