The smoke filled the room, it twisted and contorted as if it were a wave, he exhaled again, adding more of the steel coloured smoke that created a thick haze throughout the darkened room. He sat there with his feet upon the crooked desk, with cracks that ran across the surface, each one having its own story. He continued to sit there trying to think of how he managed to get to this point in time, what had he done wrong to be sat in an empty office with no power, no cases and infinite boredom. It would only take time for Hayashi and his men to collect their debt. Aiden opened his desk draw, it presented a revolver to him, and the loose bullets soon rolled out towards him from the back of the drawer. He slotted them in, six shots he counted. He heard footsteps, he pulled down the hammer of his revolver. He scrunched up his cigarette against the ash tray where the rest had piled up over the days. He readied his pistol, aiming its withered barrel towards the door, the footsteps grew louder. He readied himself for the fallout of what was to come. But the Detective heard an unexpected degree of thump. "Detective?" a woman’s voice, not one of Hayashi’s brutes. "Detective? Detective Larsson?" Aiden cautiously moved towards the door, he placed his hand on the rusted door handle. The door flung open, before he could even raise his pistol to check who was at the door the woman was already in the darkened room. "Hello Mr. Larsson, no need for the gun i’m here with a case." He looked at his shaking hands for a moment and hastily placed the loaded revolver on the desk. "A case?" He said in a questionable tone. "Yes Mr Larsson, you are a Private Detective after all, although your office is looking a little worse for ware." She dragged her finger across the dusty shelves. "I’ve been on a break." The woman didn’t believe a word. "A break? A two month and thirteen day break?" Aiden looked stunned, how could she have known that? "How did you know that?" he said "About what? Your two month downhill spiral, or the fact that you haven’t had working lights for three weeks." She lit a cigarette, adding more concrete shaded smoke up into the room. "So, about your case miss." He pulled out the chair that opposed his desk. Her jet black hair merged into the darkness of the room. "A peculiar one, but a legal one. And God know’s that you need legal work." She exhaled another towering plume of smoke. "And what makes you think that I won’t take less illegitimate cases."

"What do you fear the most Mr. Larsson?" She said. "Excuse me?" He leaned forward with intrigue. "What do you fear the most?" She repeated. "Fine, I fear... The unknown. That’s what I fear Miss-"

Before he was able to ask her name she cut him off. "Then why did you answer the door with gun and a shaking hand, who did you piss off Mr. Larsson?" She pressed down the end of her cigarette into the ashtray. "I saw your medals, the great war. nineteen fourteen until nineteen eighteen, sergeant Larsson. Yet you’re scared of what’s on the other side of your office door. So Mr. Larsson what are you scared of?" He considered telling her for a moment, but without a case for over two months he couldn’t afford to dissuade her from submitting a case. "How about we discuss your case Miss. I’m keen to hear details." He said, expecting one of Hayashi’s men to come barging into the building at any moment. "Of course, but I think it is paramount that we speak tomorrow, meet me by the docks at 5a.m. Oh, and Mr. Larsson, bring a suitcase this will be a long and distant case." Before Aiden could ask any questions she had already left, but if this was a paying job he’d take it. And perhaps he might be able to slip out of Mr. Hayashi’s grasp. The Detective sighed and reached below his desk until his blind hands finally met the bottle of whiskey, feeling much lighter than his previous reunion with the bottle. He cracked open the cap and poured into a mug, with the remnants of the morning’s coffee adding to the taste. Larsson slumped back into his chair and put his feet back up on the desk as he sipped on his drink.