As Hitori made his approach, he took a minute to go over the plan in his head. He and Gordon were currently on their way to the Red Sun Lab, one of the largest artecraft firms on Esper outside the Black Temple. Via a complicated scheme, and Hitori supposed a series of off the books Nova missions like this one, the White Temple contracted them to construct a special arte.

Hitori didn’t know what it was supposed to do, and it didn’t seem Kalindi did either, but it must be either very powerful or very dangerous for the Paladins to go through so much effort to conceal it. Even this lab was only responsible for the final assembly.

The Red Sun office was not far from the inn, so they arrived quickly, even given that they stuck to the ground to avoid suspicion. Only Protius went topside, using the Shifting Arte to pass between buildings out of sight. Elvira and Chandra had taken a long way in, to come from a different angle and wait discretely nearby.

Hitori hit the door first, and out of habit Gordon walked in lock step behind him. They scanned the room without thinking about it. There was no one in the Lab’s foyer when they entered, though a pretty young woman quickly stepped up to her desk from a small room adjacent to it. She was modestly dressed, already prepared for the brisk night air. A sickle sword dangled from her hip.

“Can I help you?” she said as she sat down. Hitori could see her name was Lysandra Khensa from a tag on her shirt.

“We’re here to retrieve something for a client,” Hitori said. He was speaking Bachijan, intentionally adding a mild Mairtalan accent.

“Odd hour for deliveries.”

“Last minute decision. You know how it is.” Hitori took a black chip from a pouch on his chest and handed it to her. His gaze lingered overlong, triggering a wary look from the receptionist. He smoothed his face and silently cursed himself. Wickham’s tag somehow found its way into his things, and he hadn’t been able to get his mind off it.

Khensa took the stone without comment, snapping it into a tray attached to her console. She gave a few more inquisitive glances to Hitori and Gordon while she looked over their documentation. Hitori did his best to look bored, and a little annoyed.

Eventually, Khensa finished her work and removed the token from her console. She turned briefly back to the closet she walked out of earlier, and seemed to be thinking something over. Her eyes lit up.

“Everything is in order,” Lysandra said, returning the data token to Hitori. “So I’ll go ahead and call Assistant Director Penthu for you.”

“Okay, thank you,” Hitori said. When the receptionist turned her attention to a comm pad on her desk, Hitori and Gordon shared a confused glance. It wasn’t exactly a problem, but they expected the research staff to be out of the office by now.

After a short conversation over the intercom, Lysandra bid the pair to wait on a bench nearby. The Assistant Director arrived shortly, a white coat billowed in the air behind him as he moved. He was paler than the average Bachijan, and not much taller than the female guard at the desk. Hitori and Gordon stood to greet him.

He gave them a look over before saying, “You’re here for the Ex Stone.”

“That’s right,” Hitori replied. He could see his name was Dr. Menna Penthu. “Are you here to escort us to the vault?”

“No.” Dr. Menna continued after Hitori gave him a hard look, “We haven’t done our tests. We’ve been waiting, as requested, for your employer to send a representative. I was under the impression we would begin a week ago. Instead you’ve come now only to take it away.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, but there’s been a change of plans. It was decided to conduct all the testing in-house.”

“Unacceptable.”

Hitori gave Dr. Penthu a wary look. “Can we step inside your office to discuss this?”

“No,” he said. “In fact, you can come back tomorrow if you want to finally begin testing, otherwise you may wait until we finish.” He turned to Khensa, who was looking up at them in confusion. “You, guard, see them to the exit.”

She stood with an icy glare at the doctor, then turned to face the potential trespassers. She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. Hitori could see her measure up the pair of them. She knew what to look for, so she was likely a veteran fighter. Perhaps a sergeant in the city guard?

She didn’t seem excited at the prospect of kicking him and Gordon out, but appeared confident she could do it. At least that meant the pair succeeded in looking harmless. Their complete lack of armor probably had something to do with it.

In any case, this plan was a bust. Hitori looked at Gordon and shrugged. Khensa relaxed as the two turned and headed towards the door.

After walking out, Gordon whispered under his breath, “Told you this wouldn’t be easy.”

Hitori rolled his eyes, then discreetly gestured for Protius to meet with Chandra and Elvira nearby. They were in a secluded spot between a pair of tightly packed offices, with a clear view of one side of the lab.

Once everyone was settled, Chandra asked, ”How did it go?”

“As expected,” Gordon said. She looked at him warily. “That is, poorly.”

“For some reason Dr. Penthu didn’t want to hand over the Ex Stone,” Hitori said.

“What, really?” Chandra said. “Why?”

“He acted like he really wanted run his tests, but it’s clear there’s an ulterior motive.”

“Any idea what?”

“Nothing concrete.” Hitori shrugged.

“We could ask him ourselves,” Elvira said. Hitori gave her a curious glance. She pointed up at a spot behind him, where he saw Dr. Penthu himself rummaging through an office, presumably his own.

Hitori hummed. “I’m reluctant to get more ‘hands-on’ than necessary…. Still, the situation is very suspicious.”

“What’s your theory?” Protius asked.

“Dr. Penthu is planning to steal the stone, might even be making his move as we speak.”

“Should we contact the White Temple?” Chandra asked. “Or at least, um, Kalindi?”

“For now, yes,” Hitori said. “I’ve got her WebId, so I’ll send a message.” Hitori typed out a quick note on his Comm. “Hopefully she’ll get back to us sooner than later.”

It didn’t take long for the stone like device to shimmer and buzz in his hand.

“That was quick,” Hitori said. He tapped a few glowing symbols, then frowned a moment later. “‘Mission is to retrieve stone.’”

Gordon laughed, “A Paladin with a sense of humor?”

Elvira shot him a low glare. “That wasn’t exactly helpful,” she said. Gordon shrugged.

“It’s good enough for our purposes, at least,” Hitori said. Elvira glanced at him. “Her response technically authorized a broad range of retrieval options.” Hitori grinned. “So if the White Temple has a problem with our choice, they can take it up with her.”

Elvira eyed him warily. “What exactly are you thinking?”

“Oh, nothing serious,” Hitori said innocently. “Just a little highway robbery.”