Story: RCM One Foxy Dame

You don’t see a fox running around New York much, especially not one sitting up on a street-sign and getting gawked at by pedestrians. Then again, this wasn't strictly speaking actually an ordinary fox to start with. It stared out at all the people milling about with keen fascination and a sharp intelligence which was mistaken for animalistic wariness by the people. Which was fine. She was used to that. It was actually pretty helpful for the purposes of having fun.

Without warning the fox skitted down the sign and dashed off into an alleyway, and a moment later a Japanese woman stepped out. She wore a sharp business coat, pencil skirt, and wide brimmed hat. She looked around, nobody seemed to notice her anymore. Just one more face in the endless crowd.

“Now then, where is he?” She mused. Pulling out a slip of paper from somewhere. Probably a hidden pocket. “Is this the building?” She checked the numbers, “Excellent. This has been an unfortunate delay but soon enough I’ll back back on track.”

Just as the first drop fell from the sky, the woman had an umbrella over her head. Nobody really noticed where she had pulled it from, must have been her coat right?

<hr>

The work of a private detective ain't half as glamorous as the novels try to sell you. You don't got the same authority as the cops to do investigative work, you can't get warrants and if you get caught following someone then your ass is the one getting hauled off to jail no matter how dodgy the person you're tailing might be. I've seen too many idiots get into the line of work thinking they can cowboy it up only to learn this ain't the wild west and the sheriffs have very long arms.

Most of what you do is mundane crap like chasing lost pets or checking up on spouses some rich jerk thinks is cheating on 'em - or helping a rich jerk cheat on their spouse by covering their tail. The few times I've ever tangled with the cops it didn't go well for me - and that in spite of me keeping my nose clean. Way I see it they've probably met even more dumb kid wannabe PIs than I ever will. Kinda thing builds a reputation for the job. Expectations. A low bar that I'm flying over.

Name's Romeo LeBlanc and, in case you lack the reading comprehension to figure it out, I'm a private investigator by trade. The kind of guy you hire when you want things done on the quiet. Things looked into you might not want the public knowing of. Someone who can look into things discreetly and then hammer down enough shots to get amnesia about the case - or at least keep his big mouth shut if anyone comes around to ask.

So it was a quiet day by all measures. The only sound in my office was the pitter patter of rain falling from the heavens. A metaphor for my mood? Maybe. Ask again when I have a rat's ass to give. Or something like that? It was a relief to hear a gentle knock at my door and not only because it meant a client might be paying a visit.

"Come in," I called, taking my feet off the desk and sitting up straight in my chair. Gotta make a good first impression. Yeah, well. If I'd known what was gonna come strutting in through that door in a moment, I'd have spent the last hour cleaning up a lot better. Probably shaved, bought some flowers, written poetry.

First thing I saw was the leg. It crept around the door as it opened as if it was showing off. Well, gotta say. It was something worth showing off. A moment later it opened wider and there she was in all her glory. Trouble on legs. You can tell the sort right away. You don't do this job for a month before some pretty face comes in thinking she can sway your heart with a sultry stare and enticing attire. So pardon me for leering, ladies. But if she thought that she could bring me under her thumb that easily... well, she'd have to work a bit harder for it.

Though admittedly, only a little harder. Like I said before. I'd have sure as hell cleaned up nicer if I'd known she was coming.

You want more specifics as to her appearance? Well, she was Asian. Let's see... Japanese? I'm not so good with telling the difference, but something about her made me think of the Land of the Rising Sun. That smart business coat fit her like it was part of her own body and that pencil skirt was doing her nothing but favours. She peered up at me from underneath that wide brimmed hat and all I could see was mischief in her eyes. The kind of mischief that might make even a cynical sod like me perk up a little.

“Are you Mr. LeBlanc?” She said, her English was a little odd. Accented but not like, a foreign accent. Couldn’t place it. Not like I get world travelers much anyway. She slunk into the office like she owned the place - or would in the near future. "I wish to hire your services Mr. LeBlanc." Cue her leaning on the desk to show off her goods and - there we go. The rain was even making bits of the material cling to her skin with a bit of transparency. "Will you help me?"

"Sure thing sweetheart," I said, being very careful to maintain eye contact and my most charming smile. "I'll start by listening to your situation. Then I'll tell you my fee. Have no fear of one thing: Nothing you say will leave these four walls. As a Private Dick, I have to maintain confidentiality of even potential clients. Capiche?"

She stared blankly at me for a moment. Weird. It kind of felt like her eyes were sparkling there for a moment. I felt something tugging at my mind. The world went all awhirl and then... "Capiche. Pardon me, I had not experienced that word before. I am... not quite native in your tongue yet."

Weirdly, it felt like the words 'would you like to be native in mine?' would have followed naturally from that sentence. This was... bad. It almost felt like real sexual tension between the two of us. Even though she knew my name, and I didn't know hers.

"Aoi Kitsunezaki," she said. That’s quite a mouthful of a name, “I know it’s a ‘mouthful’ to you Americans but you can call me Aoi while we work together.”

"Alright Aoi," I said. "Then you can call me Romeo. Fair's fair. Now, what's got you all worked up and coming down to see a private investigator?"

“I’m here because my current employer has a matter he wishes handled with sensitivity. Due to his… position… in the community going to the police isn’t an option.” Aoi said, pulling out some photographs from her coat.

“Now just gotta tell you, I ain’t doing anything that’s blatantly illegal.” I said. I caught the drift, this lady worked for a Mob boss, or a businessman with connections with them, but I like to stay on the good side of the law. Prison’s bad for my health you know.

“Of course not Romeo.” She put the photo down on the desk, “This is solely on the up and up.”

Yeah, this kind of thing can happen to a dame. Something sensitive happens involving someone powerful enough to rub her out if word gets out the wrong way, or if the wrong person gets wind of it they could ruin her life some other way. In those cases the police aren't exactly known for being discreet.

The photo on the deck was of some kind of weird sparkling pearl on a necklace. Real fancy looking, resting on a plush cushion. Looked more expensive than my entire office. “This is a <i>Hoshi no Tama.</i> It is a rare type of gemstone from my home country of Japan. This particular stone was the property of my employer until very recently. But during a business transaction some weeks ago it vanished, and my employer is very much interested in getting it back.”

Not hard to see why. I'd bet that if I got this under a monocular I'd be whistling deep and low about the value of something like that. Even from a picture like this you could taste the green.

While I was looking at the picture she must have put down a folder, for there was now one on my desk that wasn't there before. "This is a dossier of people you may wish to look into," she said. Is that so? Kind of made me wonder why they hadn't already found this gemstone if they had that much information. It wasn't exactly a thin folder, you understand. "Each of them had opportunity to steal the gemstone. There are also blueprints for the office in which the gemstone was stored. Please only discuss matters of the case with me, and me alone. While you may be able to deduce the identity of my boss, he wishes to remain as far away from you as possible - up until the gemstone is recovered, that is."

Not an unreasonable request. If he's seen palling around with a private investigator who is digging around, it might cause all kinds of hassle for him. Still... My instincts were bugging me something fierce about this case. Like there was something she wasn't telling me. In which case there was only one logical response.

"I'll take your case," I said. "It'll be a grand a day, with daily reports mailed to an address of your choice. I miss a report, you don't gotta pay. You can cancel this contract at any time. Sound fair?"

She leaned in close enough I could smell what she'd had for breakfast this morning. Her lips were a lightbeam's distance from mine. All I could do was stare into her eyes, which seemed to be... inconsistent in their colour. Flickering around to all sorts to the point I didn't even notice the epicanthic folds.

"Perfectly," she said. Then turned around and strutted away. "You may begin tomorrow. An address is already included in the folder."

I nodded in agreement with that. Well. Looks like I got a ton of reading to do. But first thing: A cold shower.

<hr>

Ooh, she liked him. She liked him a lot. That was a surprise, but a welcome one. He was so serious, yet enamoured of danger. How could a being like her - by nature a trickster- resist such a man as that?

Now, she hadn't meant to expend some of her energy in reading his mind. That had been a reflexive action from her own confusion. Kitsune don't like being confused. She'd picked up a fair amount of this English language in her time exploring the outside world... and yet there was also so much more to it. Such a messy language. So many strange terms of phrases. Like "capiche" or -

"Here's the Private Dick's office, boss!"

Yes, Private Dick was also a strange turn of phrase for a - Aoi's hair suddenly stood on end. Including the fabric of her hat and coat, mark you. She recognised that voice! In an instant she disappeared, leaving a frightened looking fox rushing behind a nearby trash can as two heavyset men walked right on by... With a frail and delicate looking woman flanking her.

"You are quite sure that he's the best we can hire?" the woman asked.

"Sure thing boss!" one of the - what was the phrase - hired goons replied. "He's definitely the best around! He'll find that slanty eyed whore in no time flat!"

1. Aoi's gaze narrowed at the bane of her existence. In truth she was far more frightening to the Kitsune than either of those two large men. This... would complicate matters quite tremendously.
2. Romeo has a confusing meeting with this supposedly frail woman, where she also hires him onto a case.
3. Follow Aoi as she attempts to investigate the gemstone on her own.
4. Romeo starts digging into the case, meeting up with some… colorful fellows.
5. Something else