Ashes to Ashes (C Rank Mission- Infernal Affairs)

Back in Era. Abigail honestly never thought she'd find herself here again. At least not so soon. If she had to guess, it'd been about three months since she last walked Era's streets. The last thing that happened to her before she packed her bags and left was still fresh in her mind. God, she hoped that Seeker bitch got her ass fired. And now there was this trouble with the Magic Council splitting down the middle. Talk of civil war abounds. Not to mention those Shadow Heart creeps. She didn't trust their freedom fighter image one damn bit. To be brutally honest, she was probably going to operate on a "punch first, ask questions later" policy with those guys.

But she wasn't here because she was worried about Fiore's political landscape. No, she was here because of the same reason she finds herself anywhere these days. She had heard a woman in a priest's robe had been spotted in the city, specifically around an neighborhood where a well-known alchemist was reported to live. What Emiliana wanted with an alchemist, Abby didn't know. But there was no doubt in her mind that it was bad news. Not that she'd be able to investigate. She'd asked around pretty much all day yesterday where this alchemist supposedly lived, but she came up with precisely nada. So that meant either the rumors she heard were bunk, or the local populace had their heads jammed squarely up their asses. Either possibility seemed likely.

Still, she was determined to make sure this excursion to Era wasn't entirely fruitless. And hey, she was strapped for cash, hadn't done a job in a while. When she saw a job posting from a private detective, she snatched it right up. And that's where she was headed now. As she sauntered down the street, dressed in her usual black top, black jeans and red jacket, gnawing on an unlit match, Abigail pulled the notice out of her jacket pocket to double check the address of the detective's offices. If she was any judge, it'd be near the hill with the old castle on it. Her eyes wandered up towards the sky, where they found nothing but gray clouds, threatening rain. Cursing under her breath, the redhead picked up her pace.

Abigail ran through the winding streets for maybe twenty minutes or so, cutting through alleyways and side streets in a vain attempt to reach her destination more quickly and beat the rain. Unfortunately, it began pouring long before she reached the detective's office. So by the time she arrived, she was soaked to the bone. The building itself wasn't much of a far cry from the usual style found in Era. Off white stone, three stories tall, four pane windows except on the ground floor, flat roof, and a heavy oak door complete with knocker. Honestly, it looked more like an apartment building than where a P.I. would set up shop. But the big window that took up most of the building front read, clear as day, "Asuka Yamazaki. Licensed Investigator for Hire".

Sighing, Abigail wrapped her hand around the ring of the door knocker (which looked like the head of a Chinese dragon, interestingly enough) and gave it a couple good slams. "Hello? Is Detective Yamazaki in?" She asked as loud as she could, knocking a couple more times and spitting out the match in her mouth. "I'm here about the job notice you posted. I think I might be able to help you out."