Octopus City.
In the darkness of a basement, two shadows met and whispered to each other.
"We've lost contact with the Liaison in Whale City," the tall shadow said against the wall.
"How could Eagle have failed? That makes no sense," the thin, small shadow exclaimed, clearly unable to accept that the Investigation Bureau had caught Liaison Eagle.
"The fact is, he really was captured."
"That day, every police car in the city was looking for him. Someone who escaped from there confirmed that Eagle was caught."
"This..."
"Our entire operation in Whale City has been cut off. We need to send someone new to take up residence there, or we'll be left far too vulnerable in that area," the tall shadow said.
Whale City was part of the Shadow Stream's plans. They could not afford to lose it.
The two shadows thought it over. They had to investigate why Eagle had failed.
After all, the Shadow Stream's members were a cunning bunch. Turning into shadows made escape extremely easy, and they were almost impossible to guard against.
Without something specifically designed to counter Shadow Creatures, capturing senior members was all but impossible.
In the eyes of the Shadow Stream's members, regional Liaisons already counted as senior members and possessed some key intelligence.
That included the Shadow Stream's regional plans. The Investigation Bureau must have learned about those by now.
"Notify every Liaison across the country. Our information has leaked. We need to revise our plans and lie low for now. Don't do anything out of line."
The tall shadow spoke gravely, and the thin shadow nodded.
Before long, the two shadows left the basement and returned to a villa, slipping back onto a sleeping person's body to become its shadow.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman opened her eyes, letting out