Commission

Bang, bang, bang—

A series of knocks sounded from outside the reception room door.

Rosanne, who had been chewing on a piece of bread, looked up with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Could the captain be back...? No, if it were him, he probably wouldn't knock."

She looked at the lunch in front of Angel, which had already been touched, blinked, and muttered as though trying to convince herself.

"Come in, the door isn't locked." Klein set down his fork and responded to the knocking.

The door was pushed open from outside, and a finely dressed woman walked in. A gentle female voice came with her. "Excuse me, is this Blackthorn Security Company?"

Seeing the three people in the reception room gathered around a table, with half-eaten lunches before them, a trace of apology appeared on her slightly plump face. "I'm sorry. I haven't interrupted your meal, have I?"

You already have... Angel thought to herself. She put the untouched bread back into its lunchbox, wiped her hands with a napkin, and shifted her posture on the sofa to face the lady at the door.

"This is Blackthorn Security Company. How can we help you?"

Hearing the affirmative reply, the lady breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again. "I have a commission. I'd like to ask you to find a lost item."

A commission?

Angel's first reaction upon hearing that was to find it somewhat absurd. The Nighthawks were the Church's Beyonder force, under the Church's jurisdiction. They also accepted commissions from local police agencies, but they were not a civilian organization like a Private Detective Agency or a mercenary group. This lady had probably come to the wrong place.

But she immediately realized that the woman had most likely come because of the "Blackthorn Security Company" sign.

Seeing the anticipation in the lady's eyes, Angel did not respond. Instead, she turned to Rosanne, wanting to see how this "Security Company" handled a client who had mistakenly come to their door.

Rosanne had stopped eating the moment the visitor pushed open the door and entered the reception room. Hearing that a commission had come in, she did not panic. Instead, she answered in a businesslike tone, "The fee for finding lost items ranges from ten to fifty pounds depending on the difficulty and deadline. You'll need to provide detailed information about the item. If it was stolen, we'll also need the time and place it went missing. The more detailed the information, the greater the chance of finding it."

"For lost-item recovery commissions, twenty percent of the fee must be paid in advance, with the remainder due upon success. However, we cannot guarantee that we will find it. If we fail to complete the commission, only half the advance payment will be refunded."

So regardless of whether the lost item was found, the client would have to pay at least ten percent of the commission fee... Listening to these somewhat harsh terms, Angel shifted her gaze to the lady, only to see that instead of showing any displeasure, she smiled.

"Those are very reasonable terms. Can you take the commission now? I can sign a contract immediately."

Rosanne apparently had not expected the other party to be so straightforward. Her expression visibly stiffened, but her excellent professional discipline kicked in, and she quickly adjusted. "Please wait a moment. I'll draft a contract. You can speak with our security personnel here first."

Reluctantly leaving her lunch behind, she quickly walked around the partition at the back of the reception room. Soon, the crisp clatter of a typewriter could be heard.

The lady went to the sofa that had originally belonged to Brett and sat down elegantly. Her gaze moved between Angel and Klein, as though assessing which of them was in charge.

Klein took the initiative to ask, "How should we address you? What kind of item are you looking for?"

As though she had already prepared her answer, the lady replied swiftly, "Just call me Mrs. Green. I'm looking for a gold ring. It originally belonged to my husband, but it was stolen a week ago. This ring is extremely important to me, and I hope you can find it as soon as possible."

"Mm, a gold ring... stolen a week ago..." Klein nodded and repeated the key points from Mrs. Green's words. "What other characteristics does the ring have? If it's convenient, it would be best if you could explain why it is so important in detail, so we can analyze where it might have gone."

"The ring isn't pure gold. It's a little harder than an ordinary gold ring, and its diameter is about this wide. One side is flat, with the raised word 'Green' on it." Mrs. Green gestured to indicate the ring's size. "There's no need to analyze anything. I know where it is. You only need to help me get it back."

As Mrs. Green described it, the shape of the ring gradually formed in Angel's mind. It sounded very much like a ring-shaped seal. But upon hearing that final sentence, she could not help interjecting.

"You know where it is? Then why do you need us to look for it?"

Mrs. Green took a folded sheet of paper from her handbag and handed it to Angel. "This is a report a Private Detective I hired gave me yesterday. He has already found out where the ring went."

Angel accepted it, unfolded the thin sheet, and laid it flat on the tea table. Klein leaned over as well, watching curiously.

It was an investigation report issued by the Jules Detective Agency. It described in considerable detail how they had questioned more than a dozen witnesses and suspicious individuals over three days, identified the suspect in the burglary, and then determined the method used to dispose of the stolen goods based on the suspect's testimony.

When Angel saw the final entries—"Location where stolen goods were sold: Labor Mutual Aid Society, Docklands," "Average time before stolen goods are sold: ten days," and the red handwritten note, "Suspected gang organization"—she frowned.

She raised her head, looked at Mrs. Green's expectant eyes, and asked:

"Since you have already found the suspect and where the item went, why not report it directly to the police? I imagine the Tingen City police would welcome a case with such clear evidence."

"The police won't do anything. These gangs have existed for so many years. Do you think the police don't know about them?" Mrs. Green clearly held a deep prejudice against the police. Then her tone changed. "Besides, I don't want the police involved. They always make a big show of things, work inefficiently, yet somehow stir up the entire city."

"Originally, I wanted to have Detective Jules get the ring back directly. Steal it, negotiate with them and buy it back, anything would do. But after investigating this far, he refused to continue. Even offering him more money didn't help."

That made sense. Since this so-called Labor Mutual Aid Society had gang connections, a Private Detective would naturally be unwilling to invite trouble. Investigating and gathering evidence was one thing; directly making contact or even stealing something was another. The latter was far more difficult and dangerous than the few Gold Pounds he could earn.

The same applied to Blackthorn Security Company. When Mrs. Green first spoke, Angel had assumed the commission involved finding clues about stolen property or screening suspicious individuals. She had not expected Detective Jules to have already handled all of that, leaving behind the most troublesome step.

From Cole Granger's memories, Angel knew that while Tingen City did not have openly operating gangs like a major city such as Backlund, various "Mutual Aid Societies" and "trade associations" monopolized or semi-monopolized certain industries and low-end labor. They formed quasi-gang organizations that appeared legitimate but were actually involved in all kinds of criminal business. They collected membership fees, took commissions, organized labor, upheld industry rules, and even guarded homes and properties. Whenever they came across an illegal business with high profits, they would pounce on it without hesitation and take a big bite.

The lack of police manpower made the Tingen City police turn a blind eye to such gray areas. As long as no one died and they did not extend their claws toward the wealthy and powerful, the police could not be bothered to clean up that mess.

Seeing Angel hesitate, Mrs. Green said with some urgency, "I know this final step is difficult. How about this? I can double the commission fee to one hundred pounds, as long as you find a way to get the ring back."

One hundred pounds—nearly two years' wages for an ordinary person... Even if the ring were pure gold and set with diamonds, it would never be worth that much, let alone an impure gold ring. It had to have some other value, perhaps as a seal, and Mrs. Green urgently needed it. Otherwise, her losses would far exceed one hundred pounds.

Angel did not answer Mrs. Green immediately. Instead, her gaze repeatedly swept over the documents before her as she analyzed the feasibility of the commission.

"That's already a very high commission fee. May I ask how you found us? Were you referred by detectives?"

Klein asked from beside her.

Mrs. Green showed an embarrassed smile and hesitated before answering. "Actually... Detective Jules did recommend several Security Companies. He believed that a task involving a gang organization would be more suitable for a capable security organization."

Judging from her vague answer, that detective's recommendations most likely did not include this place. Was Blackthorn Security Company simply run too poorly, or was it concealed too well?

"But those Security Companies have no one available for this kind of job. Several serious cases have occurred in succession recently—murders and disappearances. The wealthy people of all Tingen City have hired every Private Detective and security guard they can find. I only came here to try my luck."

No wonder that the moment Rosanne indicated they might accept the commission, Mrs. Green had accepted the harsh terms without hesitation, agreed to sign a contract immediately, and had even raised the price on the spot.

Unfortunately, one hundred pounds was not so easy to earn. Looking for lost cats and dogs would have been one thing, but this stolen property was already sitting in a gang's pocket. One wrong move could lead to a dispute or even deaths. Angel did not know what Captain Dunn—or rather, the Nighthawks—thought about such high-risk commissions, so she did not dare agree rashly.

"Mrs. Green, we'll accept your commission. Once Miss Rosanne brings out the contract, the commission will take effect after you sign it and make the advance payment."

Hm?

Angel looked at Klein in surprise. At some point, he had extended his left arm and was holding a silver chain with a yellow crystal tied to the end.

"If your information is accurate, then you should be able to get that ring tomorrow."