Apparently Mattoro was now finally ready to proceed with the next step of their plan. After his last mission for the Cold Colliers, he was informed some time later that Mattoro planned on calling on him again for the next step, and to simply await the letter. Seeing as the man had proven true to his word, and always made sure he was paid for his efforts, Mikajia had no intention of turning down future work for the man. What’s more, his tasks always kept things interesting. Mikajia hated simple jobs that required no real effort of creativity from him.

He wasted no time in getting ready, leaving his loft mere moments after receiving the letter. It had instructed Mikajia to meet them in the Cold Colliers’ hideout, like before. And once he had arrived, Mattoro greeted the man with a firm handshake before filling in the rest of the details that the letter hadn’t given. Mikajia was informed that the next step was to determine if all three contractors were equally guilty of causing the collapse of the mine that had killed his friends and co-workers, or if only one of them were responsible.

As far as Mattoro was concerned, he was almost absolutely certain that Kalaus was guilty, seeing as he had been the contractor actually present that day during the collapse. So that was where he wanted Mikajia to start his search. The man gave Mikajia the location of Kalaus’ house in Baska, and told to search it thoroughly. Kalaus was currently occupied with business in another city, so now would be the perfect opportunity to search his residence for clues of any incriminating evidence. Though the man wouldn’t be there, and the house would be completely unoccupied, Mattoro still urges caution. They had no way of knowing exactly what might happen if he were caught.

WC = 309/1,000

Mikajia simply nodded and promised to be as careful as he could. Once he had arrived at the contractor’s house, he managed to slip in in the dead of night, making sure as to cause as little commotion as possible. The man’s back door had a pitifully simple lock and nothing else, not even a single crystal or security system. That struck him as a bit odd, or maybe arrogant would be a better term? Based off his survey of the contractor’s house, it was clear the man had money, more than he could possibly know what to do with. If he were in the man’s shoes, he’d have his house armed to the hilt.

But perhaps not everyone valued privacy like he did. Mikajia made sure to make a mental note about the sheer lack of any type of security on the man’s house while he continued to search through the place, looking for anything that could give information on Kalaus or the other two contractors. After about an hour of searching he found exactly what he was looking for. Mikajia found a simple letter laying on the night stand next to the man’s bed. It was addressed to Kalaus and from what he read Giroud had sent hit to him. The whole letter detailed their very real involvement in the collapse of the mine, as well as mentioned Mattoro and the Cold Colliers, saying they should have killed Mattoro when they had the chance.

It was perfect, the exact kind of incriminating evidence he was searching for. And that’s why it put him even more on edge. This was too easy. Evidence like this didn’t just fall in your lap. It was planted there. That was always the case when searches went a little too quickly, or didn’t have enough obstacles. Only those that are looking to send you in the wrong direction, or were attempting to incriminate someone else would make your search easy.

WC = 636/1,000

However, despite his apprehension, he still took the letter and left Kalaus’ house. Though he didn’t trust the info at all, not even a little, he had no way of proving that the letter was fake. For now, he would simply need to keep an extra eye out while following this lead. Though he didn’t believe so whatsoever, if this letter was genuine, that meant that at least Kalaus and Giroud were involved in the collapse of the mine. He now needed to determine what kind of involvement Frankan, the third contractor, had in the mine’s collapse.

If the letter was in fact fake, he still had no idea which of the contractors could have placed it there. It could have been Giroud himself, or even Frankan. If the letter was to be believed, then there could be a chance that Frankan had absolutely nothing to do with the collapse, and could potentially be an ally. And even though Frankan didn’t posses a residence in Baska like the others did, fortunately since his last job with the Cold Colliers, they had managed to keep close tabs on the contractors. As such, Mikajia had a decent working knowledge of the man’s habits and knew that he could likely find the man wandering around some bars at this time.

He set off to locate the contractor, and after a couple hours found the man wandering along a sidewalk, his steps slightly faltering, meaning he was most likely a little tipsy. Mikajia wasted no time, rushing forward and grabbing the man before darting off into the alley way next to them. He flung the man up against a wall then placed his hand over the contractor’s throat. With the man thoroughly terrified for his life, Mikajia then proceeded to interrogate him, promising untold pain and suffering if he didn’t answer truthfully.

WC = 944/1,000

He sensed no resistance in the man while Mikajia asked his questions of the man and his surprise and disgust seemed genuine when he mentioned the shady dealing detailed in the letter between Giroud and Kalaus, with the collapse of the mine. It took almost no persuasion on Mikajia’s part after that to get Frankan to talk. He told Mikajia everything he knew about the two, their hobbies, their habits while in Baska and even their typical timetables. He told the man that he would first verify that the information provided by him was correct, and if he was found to be telling the truth, then they could talk further, but if he was found lying, Mikajia would hunt him down and kill him without a second thought. After that he left to go inform Mattoro of what he had learned.

However, he kept his suspicions to himself. After all, he had no proof to back up his instincts. But he had learned a long time ago to trust them. His instincts had been correct more than once, and had saved him more times than he could count. And right now, his instincts were screaming at him that Frankan was not to be trusted. The man had been far more knowledgeable about his fellow contractor’s whereabouts and hobbies than made sense. What’s more, he didn’t hesitate to believe what Mikajia was telling him. Even though he had the letter as supposed proof, who’s to say he hadn’t forged that letter himself.

The man was supposed to be some kind of big-time wealthy contractor, and yet, he simply believed the first bit of “Proof” handed to him that labeled his fellow contractors, men he’d been working with for ages, as shady criminals? Even under threat of torture, most people would be much more inclined to deny such accusations at first, not just accept them without a fight. However, if his instincts were correct, it would be best to keep his suspicions to himself for the time being. For all he knew, if Frankan was the real threat, it would be far more dangerous for Mikajia to tell Mattoro.

So for now, Mikajia simply made his way back to the hideout and informed Mattoro of what he had learned. He was very angry at finding out Giroud’s involvement from the letter, but appeared happy and relieved that Frankan at least seemed to be someone they could work with. He then handed Mikajia his payment before telling him he would be in contact again soon for their next phase. Mikajia accepted the payment with a nod and turned to leave, hoping all the while that his instinct was actually wrong. They would be in for one hell of a ride if he was right about Frankan.

WC = 1,407/1,000