It was a quiet night in Scarlet Falls. The myriad bridges over the Scarlet River were humming with traffic, but only from south to north. The train lines further upriver, in the west, were silent, only the lights of the barracks-turned-station keeping the scarce workers of the nearby factories' graveyard shifts company. Even the city's myriad back alley markets were silent, only rats present to witness the thin streak of cyan working its way down the wall of the most important apartment complex in Highwater.
It was a quiet night in Scarlet Falls. But it was not a peaceful one.

Devaux's Books
"And consider this your payment for services rendered." The spindly, aging proprietor of the dusty bookstore slid a neatly folded piece of paper over the desk towards Amanda. Its movement through the shimmering light of the desk lamp made it difficult to infer the contents, but the handwriting was clear, elegant, and concise.  "Now, I do have another job whenever you wish. There is no need to rush for this one! At the bottom of that slip is a name I need you to do some digging into.  This individual would hardly prove an... easy mark - I expect you'll have to do most of your digging at night. I just need you to check on their schedule. And by all means, do not hesitate to call me should you need anything more." The man's kindly smile barely betrayed those awfully sharp teeth.

Julian's Clinic
It was another quiet evening. The only patient over the course of the night was a young one - barely seventeen, by the looks of things, and his auburn hair was already halfway down his back. Odd fellow, needed some patching up from a few dozen scratches; nothing serious, but he would've made quite a mess without intervention. Even his clothes were in tatters. It would have been a noteworthy, if not quite unusual, story on its own, but one detail stuck out. After thanking Julian, before leaving a small token of appreciation - a hastily-scribbled-on sheet of refill -  he hurriedly apologised before rushing out. Well, aside from the currently-sleeping inpatient taking up a bed with that broken leg, that seemed to be it in the clinic for the time being.

Silver Grid Factory Building
Disconnect.
A shiver ran up Robert Gallows's spine as he came to, the last few familiar threads connecting him to everything he once knew disconnecting. Now Tzayidiel found itself alone in a dimly-lit, but otherwise derelict, manufacturing floor, a 'circuitboard' of oily ash emanating from where it awoke. A cursory look at Gallows's watch showed that roughly 26 minutes, 34 seconds had passed since the mission had gone according to no known plan.
A Hunter was sure to arrive soon. On average a Hunter deployment takes roughly 42 minutes, giving Tzayidiel a window of approximately 20 minutes.

Hell in Highwater Bar
"Frankly, I hope this is your last job." Sunny's retired contact was his usual melancholy self, his clerical collar flashing for a moment before he tucks it back into his scarf. "But if you must have my next suggestion, I have a location for you to check out. Reports of something that... reminds me of someone I know, so keep me abreast. Civilian 'going insane', seeing 'imaginary' monsters. You know the drill, probably some scheme or another." He pulled out a smartphone, his fingers practically creaking as they moved with frantically geriatric speed across its surface. "There, I've texted you the address. Don't let your guard down, yeah?" He took another sip of his scotch, and nodded to himself.

"The bar's a hellhole, but a useful one." That's what Nate was told before being told that was his meeting point with the tired young man in front of him, and what Leo probably should've been told before he walked into the most supernatural lion's den this side of the Atlantic to meet his "partner"/boss for the first time. Although the paradoxically ancient yet youthful Magus that had "requested the aid" of the pair would hardly be the type that you'd expect to make a pun, in the end it was at least very useful; there were more signs, both trace and heavy, of supernatural activity here than in the entire journey on the way to Scarlet Falls combined. Clearly it was still the supernatural meeting place it had once been; it was doubtful anybody in the building was unaware of the nature of those around them, and indeed of their own place in the world. Surely the perfect place to begin the planning of a clandestine investigation into the death of a very influential man.