Snippet #2819496

March 11, 2045, 5:22 A.M. - Templar Tower, Texas, U.S.A.

The alleyway was a mess, that was obvious before Máire even reached it. The street around the entrance was closed off by the time she arrived on-site; a predictably immediate reaction to the disappearance of one of their own. A couple of police stood near the holographic barriers at either end, but didn't pass through - for all the talk of tower law enforcement and the Templars being on the same side, everyone knew where the cops stood in the eyes of the Order.

Máire's gaze flitted briefly over the rooftops opposite the alley as she crossed through the baricade, the guards stepping back silently as the holographic line beeped green. One of the buildings has a floating red tag on it, marking it as Bayushi's last known location. An Investigator drone hovered nearby, scanning everything in the area for lack of better direction. She turned toward the crime scene in the alley, and the CSI stood as he met her eyes.

"Any leads yet?" Máire asked, taking note of the frozen chunks scattered about the alley. The cold mist filling the area had done wonders to preserve everything; the blood hadn't even spread from where it had first fallen.

"Not yet," the CSI answered apologetically. "We're doing what we can. It's possible she was ambushed," he moved past her out of the alley, raising his hand to indicate the opposite building as he spoke. "Given how meticulous the Tragedy Killer has been so far, this was likely planned from the start. We're working under the asumption that they employed some sort of cyberware to jam her signal, knocked her out, and took her to a seperate location quickly. I have drones all over the neighborhood, looking for any sign of which route they might have taken."

Máire looked back toward the alley. "Tragedy Killer."

"That's right." The CSI jogged back over to her, holding out his palm where a holographic display of an asian woman in a cowboy hat, a snowflake decal adorning her right cheek, smiling brightly for the camera. "Silver Fang was investigating the most recent victim, ID'd as Cowboy Blizzard - sorry, Cowgirl Blizzard, whole things got me a bit rattled right now - who was found about two hours ago, give or take."

"Odd name to give a child," Máire muttered, crouching down and running the tips of her cloved fingers faintly over the top of one of the blood splatters.

The man behind her sputtered for a brief moment. "An- uh, Anna Tseng, though that's still officially restricted by NDA with her contractor." He dismissed the hologram from his palm, shifting his feet nervously before continuing. "Pattern was consistent with TK's other victims. No evidence, no witnesses. I, uh. I think Silver Fang was looking for an aerial view of the scene, maybe?"

"No witnesses?" Máire lifted her head, gazing down the alleyway toward the opposite street. "The diner staff didn't see anything? No one wandered in from off the street or looked through a window?"

The CSI exchanged glances with the other members of his crew. "It was late, a little after two. The diner closes at midnight, and with the tower lights turned down for the night cycle-"

"Found quickly enough, though."

"I- I suppose?"

"The Tragedy Killer's m.o. involves leaving crime scenes clear of evidence?"

The man rallied at this. "That's right. The killer seems to handle all their kills slowly and methodically, planned out weeks or perhaps months in advance. They always take the time to scour the scene of any evidence or signs of struggle, aside from the… body, and their calling card."

"And there are no witnesses."

"Right," he answered slowly, as if Máire were being intentionally difficult. "They're very careful about that."

"On a public street, behind a popular eatery, with targets who are more often than not household names?"

"What are you driving at here?" the CSI interrogated. "Is this supposed to be related to Silver Fang's disappearance, or are you just using the opportunity to snipe someone else's case, cos if that's what's going on here I'll call the Tower and have them send someone-"

"A killer who leaves no evidence they were there," Máire interrupted, standing and brushing herself off. "Who kills without struggle, with no witnesses, leaving their victims in pieces." She gestured around the alleyway, to the frozen blood spatter and remains of the former hero. "Pieces which all fell from different directions."

"...Right, their brutality is part of what makes the lack of evidence so frus-"

"What brutality?" Máire was growing weary of the Tower's lax hiring standards. She turned to regard the CSI and his team with a withering gaze. "What can you think of that would manage the killer's m.o. and also spirit away one of the Templar's strongest heroes in a split second?"


The man's mouth hung open slightly as his eyes searched the alleyway, the gears turning in his mind to connect the dots he'd been presented with. "Well- That's- If-"

He closed his eyes, tilting his face up to the sky and letting his shoulders go slack as he let out a groan of frustration which came with seeing an answer so obvious it could only be seen after it had already been pointed out. Máire patted him once on the shoulder as she left the alley, a reticle spinning in the corner of her vision as she contacted the tower.

"Arcanist, I need a scan of all areas within 30 kilometers of the tower for spatial distortions matching the energy signature at Silver Fang's last recorded coordinates," she pulled her hood up, then rolled her shoulder as a thin blade manifested in the air beside her. With a flick of her arm it shot toward the city skyline, a tether forming between its hilt and her wrist, sending her into the air behind her blade as soon as she grabbed it. "We're chasing a teleporter."