[h1][color=ec008c]Ayane[/color][/h1]

"One Chetnut Praline Mocha Light Frappuccino coming up!" It was another hectic weekend at work, and Ayane was enjoying every minute of it. Gravette, this city of late-night 24/7 businesses had more need for a Starbucks than perhaps any place in the world. People needed their boost to get them through overtime, holiday hours, or even just a day with the kids. The high crime rate meant lots of tired cops, which meant a steady flow of caffeine needed to be provided to all the local precincts. And right now, Ayane would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. She saw people of all walks of life coming through her doors, human and supernatural alike. business men shouted over the crowds on their cell phones, proclaiming their private affairs for all to hear. Couples would romance, and strangers would flirt. Clubs would meet up and discuss all kinds of interesting things. Indeed, this establishment was a microcosm of everything the world had to offer, and nobody suspected that she was spying on them all. After all, she was just the pretty girl handing them their Frappuccinos. 

"Ayane, can I speak with you for a minute?" The manager called her into the back, and the kitsune broke out into a cold sweat. Getting called into the back was never a good thing. Did she mess up somebody's order and get a bad survey? Did he somehow find out that she was secretly a kitsune? Or, heavens forbid, what if she gave a mystery shopper a bad cup of coffee!? She sheepishly crept into the back office and took a seat. "So, how are you doing, Ayane?"

That wasn't what she expected... "I'm doing fine, sir. Is... is there a problem?"

The manager's expression softened and he shook his head. "No problems with your performance, Ayane. I'm just checking in with everyone, making sure they're okay after what happened. A lot of people are shaken up."

Ah, he must have been talking about the murder. The victim was a nice girl, but Ayane hadn't really known her long enough to grow emotionally attached. Plus, it was far from the first death she'd dealt with, for she had already lived longer than a human's lifetime, but she knew some emotional reaction was expected from her. Fortunately, customer service was a great way to practice faking your emotions. Ayane frowned and averted her eyes. "Yeah... it's kinda scary that something like that can happen out of nowhere like that. But I'm alright. Honestly, keeping my mind on work helps me deal with it." She hoped that would suffice. The last thing she wanted was for him to send her home or give her a vacation to help her "cope." 

The manager smiled and patted her shoulder. "Alright, but if you need anything, or just want to talk about things, you can always come to me."

Ayane nodded and headed back to work. Nobody was suspicious. Good. She could keep up her life here a bit longer.

[hr]

[h1][color=0054a6]Claude[/color][/h1]

Claude leaned back in his chair with his feet up on his desk, taking a long drag from his cigarette as his new client explained to him the situation. Her husband had been killed in mysterious circumstances. The police wrote it off as a wild animal attack; that's always what they did whenever they didn't want to hand a case over to a more... qualified individual. A man covered in tooth and claw marks at his own front door. Must have been wolves. Yup, a pack of wolves just prowling around. In an apartment complex. In a densely populated urban area. And nobody saw them. Well, at least their willful ignorance kept him in business. 

"Alright, I get the picture," Claude said at last, cutting the woman off before she finished her story. "I'll take care of your husband's murderer. Let's talk numbers. You don't have any clue who this person is or why they did it. Just a random killing. That means lots of leg work and scouting. It'll be a pain in the ass. Fifteen thousand." The woman's jaw dropped and she started to object, but Claude raised his hand. 

"Before you start having a fit, let me explain what you're getting with this package. You don't pay a dime till the job is done, and I give you definitive evidence that my target was the killer. It's no risk for you, you get peace of mind, and you get justice. Can the police give you that?" Claude chuckled. He knew the answer. He handed her some paperwork to fill out. "Once you sign, the job is on. No second thoughts. No backsies. Get all your thinking done before you sign. I'll be here."

The woman walked out with the paperwork, and Claude blew out another puff of smoke. She didn't know who killed her husband, but Claude already had a pretty good idea. He just wanted to wait a bit before he started hunting the killer. It would be nice to get paid three times for the same job...