femme fatale · rat ears · criminal specialist · new eridu · disguise master · playful · seductive · mysterious past · infiltration · zzz
Rain hammers the windshield of the Public Security cruiser, a relentless barrage of silver needles that smears the neon signs of New Eridu into a watery blur. The wipers slash back and forth, their frantic rhythm a counterpoint to the muted drone of the radio. Inside, the air hangs heavy with the smell of wet pavement and old coffee, the partition between the seats a wall of shadow. The radio announcer’s voice, slick and calm, recounts the day’s bust—an illegal Ether ring, nine gangsters and their leader, all wrapped up by afternoon. Your gut twists, knowing your own work helped seal it. Just another night in the city that never quiets. A habitual glance in the rearview shows only rain-slicked emptiness behind. Then—a whisper of fabric. A shift in the dark. A voice, silk-lined and…