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."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
"The Eclipse district should be thirty or so minutes away," Raven estimated. "I could probably get us there faster, but that could end up alerting the police, so we'll have to deal with this pace."
"In any case, are you not going to explain what just happened?" Norah asked from the back seat irritably. "I was raised here, and I've never seen a route out of the district like that."
It was certainly something out of a spy movie to Norah. It seemed like Raven was going to drive right into a wall, but suddenly the floor slanted down, revealing a secret tunnel that led right out of the city. She would never have believed it if she hadn't seen it herself.
"It was a special route put together by government contractors," Raven explained. "I'm probably one of the only people that knows it exists."
"Really? Just how powerful is the FBI?"
"I couldn't answer that. Just be thankful they're helping us out this time around."
"In any case, where are we going now?" Ingrid asked. "Are we going to the Hayasaka mansion?"
"No," Raven answered. "Tom Hayasaka would never do something so obvious. The Hayasaka mansion already holds one of the keys to that will in the first place, so why would he hide the actual will there as well?"
"Then where is it?" Norah asked. "It must still be in the same area if we're going to the Eclipse district, right?"
"Correct. We're going to a secret villa that Tom Hayasaka visits perhaps once a month at best. It's situated in a woodier area of the Eclipse district not too far from the Hayasakas' main mansion."
"I know that place," Ingrid remarked. "I've gone there several times as a child."
"I've been investigating that villa for years," Raven explained. "I always believed it was a suspicious place, and now I know for sure that the will is somewhere in there."
"You're certain, right?" Norah asked cautiously. "We don't have time to waste on hypotheticals and guesses."
"Absolutely sure," Raven replied. "I've been working this case too long to have any more doubts."
"I wonder where it could be, then," Ingrid wondered. "I never saw anything that important the few times I was there."
"Well, it was secret even to his family, right?" Raven smirked. "I doubt he would have put it anywhere that obvious. We'd better prepare to do a thorough search of the villa."
As the conversation began to peter out, Raven took an exit out of the highway, heading straight towards the Eclipse district. Once he arrived in the district proper, he drove straight out to the outskirts, where the area was mostly natural reserves created for the rich who desired an escape from the hustle of city life.
After a long drive, Raven arrived at a lush forest deep within the district's largest reserve. Though the place looked as if it was untouched by civilization, the paved roads cutting straight through the forests and the occasional solar lamps shining light on the pathways exposed the forest's artificial development.
Raven drove through the roads until he arrived at a small lake close to the center of the forest. At the foot of the lake was a rather luxurious villa, so much so that it looked out of place against the natural backdrop of the forest. There were lights illuminating the area around the villa, but from how it looked, it didn't seem as if anyone was around.
"I wouldn't rely just on how it looks from outside," Raven remarked. "Tom Hayasaka should know that the ruby necklace has already been stolen. There's no way he'd just leave this place undefended."
Raven parked the car a short distance from the villa, and the three snuck their way over through the trees and brush. Norah and Ingrid stayed behind as Raven crept over to the villa and peeked in through one of the windows. He stayed still for a few minutes before creeping back to the others.
"Looks empty. Keep your guard up, though– I doubt it'll stay that way for long."
Norah and Ingrid nodded and followed Raven back to the window. Raven swiftly loosened the lock on the window and pulled it open, allowing them to easily get into the villa. Inside, Norah noted that the villa was just as lavishly furnished as if it were some kind of rich socialite's mansion, as the room they were in seemed to be some kind of movie room with a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall.
"You Hayasakas come out to the woods just so you can watch TV and play video games?" Norah muttered incredulously. "Why even bother with a villa like this?"
"Don't ask me," Ingrid shot back. "Everything here is something Grandfather requested."
"Don't bicker," Raven interjected with a hush. "Remember what we came for. Hurry up and look for anything that could be suspicious."
"Could we turn on a light?"
"No. We should act as if people are inside the villa. If you need a light, use your phone."
Norah grumbled, but she couldn't deny that Raven had a point. She took out her phone and started using her flashlight to look around the area. However, the room they were in had loads of bookshelves that seemed to be filled with nothing but movies and games. It would take hours to check through all of this, especially if she had to hold her phone while doing it.
"I wouldn't worry about having to check the discs," Raven said as if reading her mind. "Tom Hayasaka wouldn't risk putting it in a place where it might be found accidentally."
"Thank god," Norah sighed.
"Look for some kind of secret compartment," Raven explained as he closely inspected each shelf. "Don't get distracted or bogged down by unnecessary details."
The three of them thoroughly searched the video room, but found no place for secret compartments or hidden switches. They had already spent nearly fifteen minutes just in this room, and the villa wasn't exactly small.
"How many more rooms are there like this?" Norah said, already feeling somewhat exhausted.
"There's still the foyer, dining room, and the kitchen on the ground floor," Raven recounted as the group headed out of the room they were in towards the foyer. "The second floor is largely bedrooms, so those should be pretty easy. I doubt Tom would hide such an important thing in a guest room, so we can ignore those."
"We still have so much of the ground floor to go through, though," Ingrid remarked. "We better get a move on before Grandfather thinks of sending people here."
"If that's your goal, then you're a little too late for that."
The three intruders spun around to look for the new voice that had intruded upon their secret discussion. The lights came on as if it were a stage play, and standing at the top of the stairs in the foyer was someone familiar to Ingrid.
"Kaname!" Ingrid shouted out in equal shock and anger.
"Well, well, looks like Grandpa was right about rats infesting the villa," Kaname taunted as she raised a hand in the air. At that signal, several Hayasaka Security officers burst into the villa, surrounding Norah, Ingrid, and Raven in no time.
"Now, then," Kaname gloated with a smug grin on her face. "Let's do some pest control."