Snow sighed, "Of all places... Why did Laurel run here?" She paused, "We could try disguises I suppose."

"Worth a shot," Blaze replied.

"Do you know why he's here?" Snow asked.

"Sheng?" Blaze asked before continuing, "It's his home."

Snow whistled, "Oh boy, we need to find Laurel and get of here fast."

Raven looked like he wanted to go back to sleep. For the rest of the field trip.

Snow looked at Raven, "Yeah, this might be too dangerous for you." She paused, "Or actually... he won't think much of you at all. You might be the best choice for spying around."

That didn't seem to make Raven feel any better.

Snow shrugged, "You came so you have to pull your weight," she decided.

"Where should I land?" Frei asked, "We don't want to be noticed."

Raven sighed. He shouldn't have agreed. But he did his best to keep calm.

Blaze suggested some coordinates.

Frei took them there and landed perfectly. "Wolfe sent us the last location of Laurel's bracelet," she told them, "Should we find a place to stay first?"

"Probably something to the north," Blaze suggested again.

"Alright," Snow replied, "Let's head out." She had Blaze lead the way.

So Blaze took them all as quickly as she could to a place to stay that didn't ask any questions.

Once they were safety in their rooms Frei made a call to Wolfe and filled him in. "He says not to rush anything," Frei told the others.

Snow nodded, "It looks like the last place she was tracked to... is the place of the black market. Going in a 12, when the auction starts, might be out best bet at blending in. It's..." she looked at her tablet "11 now."

Blaze nodded, going to get ready.

"... I don't really know anything about... this black market stuff," Raven said hesitantly.

"Then you'll pose as a new buyer. If you stand out, all the better. It will take attention off of us," Snow explained quickly as she started to change clothes.

Raven didn't seem to like that idea. "... What am I supposed to be buying exactly?" he asked.

Snow shrugged, "Drugs? That's pretty common. I wouldn't go with weaponry since you don't know heads or tails about it. We can give you a crash course in illegal drugs though. Maybe that will give up a hint as to Laurel's location as well, since she has smuggled drugs illegally in the past."

"... Goody..." Raven muttered as he glanced through the clothes that he brought. None of it really screamed black market.

"Do you have darker colors? You can wear normal clothing, it's like an auction," Snow explained as she pulled on her dark jeans.

Raven pulled out the darkest stuff he had and started to put it on.

Once he was done, Snow started to brief him on a variety of drugs. It was all overwhelming so after awhile she had Frei write up a cheat sheet for him.

Raven lasted longer than Snow suspected, but he still needed the cheat sheet. Blaze also helped Raven in terms of what was Yin Long territory. He spent most of his little time working on what they knew Laurel had done in the past.

"So you'll be looking at the rings. The rings are what Laurel smuggled and have the most expensive drugs in them," Snow explained, "If you get too far in over your head, leave quietly, don't look for us." She tucked her hair under her hat, "We ready to head out?"

Everyone seemed as ready as they'd ever be.

"Let's leave separately and meet back here at... 2 at the latest," she nodded, "I'll head out first, good luck." And disappeared out the door.

So they continued to leave one by one every so often and went to explore the black market to see what they could find.

Then black market was packed. When Raven started asking questions about the rings he was immediately asked a variety of questions pertaining to what exactly he was looking for. Snow had already slipped into the background, asking around for clues to Laurel's whereabouts.

--


“Well, this is an interesting development,” Dalila noted as she leaned her chin on her folded hands, “We never expected you to come to us.”

“Shut up,” Laurel spat.

“Why did you come here I wonder?” she continued, unphased, “A… broken heart perhaps.” Laurel glared at her, eyes filled with hatred. “Oh my, who would have thought sweet little Laurel could glare like that?” she chuckled.

“What are we going to do?” Akil asked from Dalila’s left side.

“You’re going to show our guest to her room,” she replied.

“But-“

“Do as I say,” the cruel woman ordered without raising her voice. Akil bowed.

So Raven tried to find one of the things Laurel had been dealing.

Blaze was mostly in the shadows, keeping an eye out for trouble. Mostly Yin Long trouble though.

Eventually, he spotted one of the rings Snow had described.

So, Raven tried to buy it and then ask where he might be able to get some more.

The seller seemed a little suspicious of Raven and started asking more detailed questions.

Raven answered the best he could, but he started needing to use the cheat sheet.

When the buyer started pressing him more, Frei suddenly stepped up and slipped her hand into Raven's. "He's here with me," she said blankly, "He's still a little new so don't bother him." It sounded slightly like a threat.

It took the man a moment to recognize Frei and then he nodded, "You understand with all the undercovers around, a man's gotta be careful," he explained to Raven.

Raven nodded a little to the man. "... I-I'm so sorry," he said as he turned to Frei, trying to play of the surprise as a little bit of fear. "I-I promise I'll do it right next time."

"I told you not the make a scene," Frei stated too calmly before letting go of his hand and vanishing back into the crowd.

The man showed Raven a few other pieces that were similar to the ring, "The girl who usually delivered these has vanished," he sighed, "She was the most consistent. It really is hard to find consistent smugglers," he mused sadly.

Raven rung his hands a little, trying to play the scared of Frei card. "... That's a shame," he agreed.

The man nodded as he pulled out of the next piece, "Heard she's back in town though, hopefully she'll come back and work again."

"Huh, that doesn't happen too often," Raven replied as he looked at the next one.