Fortunately, the person who had beaten them to it was not very experienced. Before long, Vodka successfully caught footage of the vehicle he had driven on nearby surveillance cameras.
Following the license plate, he found the thief's identity.
"Kanazawa Ryuichiro?"
Vodka looked over the man's files. "Why does he look familiar... Wait, isn't this that internationally renowned Architect? Why would he steal someone else's Computer?"
Calvados recalled the character of that deceased reporter. "Ed McCann must have had some scandal involving him in his hands. The moment he learned of the reporter's death, this Kanazawa Ryuichiro took advantage of the opening."
Vodka's eye twitched. "That bastard reporter was way too dedicated, wasn't he? Working wherever he went?"
Remembering how his mission had nearly failed, Calvados glared darkly at the Architect on the screen. "He certainly moved fast. If he'd left the hotel a few minutes later and run into us, I could've sent him to reunite with Ed McCann."
Vodka had no kind expression for the man who had ruined their plans either. "This is the address Kanazawa registered with the DMV—let's get there quickly before he sees anything else."
There are still a few hours until dawn. Uzo should be resting at the hotel with his classmates right now... We need to finish this mission while that brat hasn't started moving around yet, then get out of here and leave this troublesome place behind.
Thinking this, Vodka displayed an efficiency that surprised Calvados. He dragged him out the door and headed straight for Kanazawa Ryuichiro's residence.
An hour later, the two stared at the empty house with disappointment.
That Architect wasn't home!
And judging by the signs, he had not left specifically to steal the laptop. He had been away from home for at least a day.
"This