Alice almost stuck her tongue out at Alphonse at his collateral damage comment, but by supreme force of will managed to only give him a sarcastic look instead. She followed him outside, regaining her composure as he led them to where the vertical was parked.

---

The drive to the target was surprisingly uneventful. With the last days of the sun quickly fading, everybody was safely inside. The already sparse traffic thinned to nonexistence as they passed from the busy urban area into the industrial sector. Their target was hiding out in an steelworks warehouse just on the inside of Alice's territory.

The warehouse was a squat building with a rounded roof. No windows allowed visual access near ground level, but skylights on top of the building allowed the light from the full moon in. The entire property was surrounded by a tight chain link fence topped in razor wire. A single guard sat in a booth at the front gate, his eyes on the book in front of him instead of the street until Alice and her group stopped.