Exhausted, Derrick escaped the alleyway and made his way to Mathers City. After draining so much spirituality, he didn't have the time to run into any more enemies. His top priority at the moment was to get in contact with Elizabeth, but how?
He could have easily gone to Elizabeth's home, but doing so might draw the organization's attention to her. He decided that the best course of action was the escape The Hole as soon as possible swap out his clothing and change his appearance. He put on a cheap, black suit that he had in his closet with a pair of glasses that didn't have any lenses. He also changed his hairstyle to a slick back; a style that he'd normally never even consider.
With his disguise complete, he waited until noon to go to the Mathers City Public Library. The first time he encountered Elizabeth, she was working at the receptionist's desks in the History section at around 2:00 PM. Derrick inferred that she had an afternoon shift from this piece of information, and planned accordingly.
Back then, I thought she was just a cute librarian, but it turns out she's kind of scary...
He entered the Mathers City Public Library and made his way to the historical section. There, he saw a beautiful brown-haired girl with emerald eyes. For a moment, he had forgotten about her cunning personality, but he quickly snapped back to reality. He approached Elizabeth and slid a small note on the receptionist's desk.
"Welcome! Do you need my help with anything?" She said with her normal cadence.
[This is Derrick. What I'm going to share with you isn't safe to be talked about in public.]
"..."
She looked at the note and gained an immediate understanding of the situation.
"Our bathrooms are just at the right sir!" She wrote on the back of the small note while maintaining a perfectly normal conversation. She didn't even glance at the paper or make any unusual gestures. She was a natural liar.
[My lunch break is in 15 minutes. Wait at the back exit of the library. I'll meet you there.]
Around 20 minutes later, Elizabeth came out from the back exit of the library.
"So, looks like you've gotten yourself into something quite troublesome." Despite the harshness of her words, she let out a twisted smile.
"Not exactly. I've just taken up a job with an investigator and I need your help with something. I'm looking for a man named Reed Rowley. He's quite the scammer within The Hole and has made quite a few enemies. I'm working for one of them."
"You are a suspicious person, Derrick. You can't just show up to my job unannounced and grant me intel for a case. What happened to first dates?" Elizabeth let out a sarcastic sigh. It was obvious that she didn't take Derrick seriously. "Oh well...it can't be helped. Do you have any clues I can work with?"
"Of course I do; Here." Derrick handed over the various credit statements, identities, etc.
Elizabeth's expression changed from "Wow! This is quite the load of info. In fact, it's too much. We can't discuss this now since my break is almost over. I'll call back to you in 2 days. Make sure your schedule is empty by then."
"Alright, I'll see you then" Well two days should be enough time...I'll scrape by with minor jobs across town, Derrick said inwardly.
__
After the meeting, Elizabeth went back to complete her shift and subsequently went home.
"Good evening master." Elizabeth was greeted by her servant, the maiden of the ornate silver locket, Valora Tusec.
"Good evening. I've got some wonderful news for us today." Elizabeth took off her clothes and prepared for her bath.
"Wonderful news, what is it?"
"The first bit of good news is that I've bought you a high-quality doll body. You'll be able to possess the body and freely move around while you're manifested. I'm sure you'll appreciate this gift."
Valora Tusec maintained a calm demeanor but was secretly ecstatic about the gift. "T-Thank you, master. Is there any more you wish to discuss?"
Elizabeth smirked. "Of course. We've got information on a classic scam artist. We'll do some research together when I'm done washing myself."
Elizabeth thought that it would prove rather difficult to have a conversation over the loud splashing of the shower, so she put off the conversation until after she was finished.
Once she was done with her shower, she dried herself and put on a pair of underwear and a dress shirt. On her coffee table was a high-end laptop that she got from a deal with one of MetaCorp's subsidiary companies, Meta-Innovate. Such a laptop was nearly impossible for an ordinary citizen in Mathers City to obtain through traditional means.
Her first thought was to check the credit statements of the individual credit cards and check the billing addresses attached to said cards. "Hm...this man has gone by multiple names. Reed Rowley, Stephen Shaw, Micheal Wright, Crowley...and that's only a couple of them. There are dozens upon dozens of social security numbers here. There's no way this guy is working alone."
"Master Derrick may have gotten involved in a large-scale criminal operation." Valora inferred.
Elizabeth snapped her fingers. "Bingo. These guys are synthetic identity frauds. They use the stolen social security numbers from inactive credit users, largely children and homeless people, to forge entirely fake identities and run up a person's credit. The entire process can take months to complete, and it can take victims up to 10-15 years before they discover they've been scammed. These guys are veterans in the criminal underworld." Elizabeth nervously laughed as she ate a handful of white grapes.
"Quite a patient bunch of low-lives. What shall we do about this matter? Do you intend to have another special meeting?"
"You're quite perceptive, Valora. That is right, I'll be meeting with the representative of a certain company under the alias of 'Alice'. I'll play a little game with them while I'm there." Get the preparations ready, we're going to visit a certain police commissioner."
Elizabeth put on her custom-made suit and tie as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Man...you do get yourself involved in some insane stuff Derrick, but the feeling is all too nostalgic, so let's go with the flow. This game will certainly be fun.
Exhausted, Derrick escaped the alleyway and made his way to Mathers City. After draining so much spirituality, he didn't have the time to run into any more enemies. His top priority at the moment was to get in contact with Elizabeth, but how?
He could have easily gone to Elizabeth's home, but doing so might draw the organization's attention to her. He decided that the best course of action was the escape The Hole as soon as possible swap out his clothing and change his appearance. He put on a cheap, black suit that he had in his closet with a pair of glasses that didn't have any lenses. He also changed his hairstyle to a slick back; a style that he'd normally never even consider.
With his disguise complete, he waited until noon to go to the Mathers City Public Library. The first time he encountered Elizabeth, she was working at the receptionist's desks in the History section at around 2:00 PM. Derrick inferred that she had an afternoon shift from this piece of information, and planned accordingly.
Back then, I thought she was just a cute librarian, but it turns out she's kind of scary...
He entered the Mathers City Public Library and made his way to the historical section. There, he saw a beautiful brown-haired girl with emerald eyes. For a moment, he had forgotten about her cunning personality, but he quickly snapped back to reality. He approached Elizabeth and slid a small note on the receptionist's desk.
"Welcome! Do you need my help with anything?" She said with her normal cadence.
[This is Derrick. What I'm going to share with you isn't safe to be talked about in public.]
"..."
She looked at the note and gained an immediate understanding of the situation.
"Our bathrooms are just at the right sir!" She wrote on the back of the small note while maintaining a perfectly normal conversation. She didn't even glance at the paper or make any unusual gestures. She was a natural liar.
[My lunch break is in 15 minutes. Wait at the back exit of the library. I'll meet you there.]
Around 20 minutes later, Elizabeth came out from the back exit of the library.
"So, looks like you've gotten yourself into something quite troublesome." Despite the harshness of her words, she let out a twisted smile.
"Not exactly. I've just taken up a job with an investigator and I need your help with something. I'm looking for a man named Reed Rowley. He's quite the scammer within The Hole and has made quite a few enemies. I'm working for one of them."
"You are a suspicious person, Derrick. You can't just show up to my job unannounced and grant me intel for a case. What happened to first dates?" Elizabeth let out a sarcastic sigh. It was obvious that she didn't take Derrick seriously. "Oh well...it can't be helped. Do you have any clues I can work with?"
"Of course I do; Here." Derrick handed over the various credit statements, identities, etc.
Elizabeth's expression changed from "Wow! This is quite the load of info. In fact, it's too much. We can't discuss this now since my break is almost over. I'll call back to you in 2 days. Make sure your schedule is empty by then."
"Alright, I'll see you then" Well two days should be enough time...I'll scrape by with minor jobs across town, Derrick said inwardly.
__
After the meeting, Elizabeth went back to complete her shift and subsequently went home.
"Good evening master." Elizabeth was greeted by her servant, the maiden of the ornate silver locket, Valora Tusec.
"Good evening. I've got some wonderful news for us today." Elizabeth took off her clothes and prepared for her bath.
"Wonderful news, what is it?"
"The first bit of good news is that I've bought you a high-quality doll body. You'll be able to possess the body and freely move around while you're manifested. I'm sure you'll appreciate this gift."
Valora Tusec maintained a calm demeanor but was secretly ecstatic about the gift. "T-Thank you, master. Is there any more you wish to discuss?"
Elizabeth smirked. "Of course. We've got information on a classic scam artist. We'll do some research together when I'm done washing myself."
Elizabeth thought that it would prove rather difficult to have a conversation over the loud splashing of the shower, so she put off the conversation until after she was finished.
Once she was done with her shower, she dried herself and put on a pair of underwear and a dress shirt. On her coffee table was a high-end laptop that she got from a deal with one of MetaCorp's subsidiary companies, Meta-Innovate. Such a laptop was nearly impossible for an ordinary citizen in Mathers City to obtain through traditional means.
Her first thought was to check the credit statements of the individual credit cards and check the billing addresses attached to said cards. "Hm...this man has gone by multiple names. Reed Rowley, Stephen Shaw, Micheal Wright, Crowley...and that's only a couple of them. There are dozens upon dozens of social security numbers here. There's no way this guy is working alone."
"Master Derrick may have gotten involved in a large-scale criminal operation." Valora inferred.
Elizabeth snapped her fingers. "Bingo. These guys are synthetic identity frauds. They use the stolen social security numbers from inactive credit users, largely children and homeless people, to forge entirely fake identities and run up a person's credit. The entire process can take months to complete, and it can take victims up to 10-15 years before they discover they've been scammed. These guys are veterans in the criminal underworld." Elizabeth nervously laughed as she ate a handful of white grapes.
"Quite a patient bunch of low-lives. What shall we do about this matter? Do you intend to have another special meeting?"
"You're quite perceptive, Valora. That is right, I'll be meeting with the representative of a certain company under the alias of 'Alice'. I'll play a little game with them while I'm there." Get the preparations ready, we're going to visit a certain police commissioner."
Elizabeth put on her custom-made suit and tie as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Man...you do get yourself involved in some insane stuff Derrick, but the feeling is all too nostalgic, so let's go with the flow. This game will certainly be fun.
